Anne Nolan has admitted she has ‘anxiety about dying’ as she discussed her battle with breast cancer.
The Irish singer, 74, was first diagnosed with cancer in 2000 and then two decades later revealed she had been diagnosed with stage three breast cancer.
Cancer has significantly affected the Nolan family after they lost Bernie in 2013 and Linda in January of this year, while Coleen and Brian have both battled the disease.
Giving an update on her health, Anne revealed she is officially cancer-free and is feeling ‘really well’ but told how the disease still has a massive impact on her life.
Anne said she still struggles with health anxiety and is always fearful about her cancer returning as she discussed the emotional toll it has on her.
‘When you have cancer, it’s one of those things that you kind of live with it for the rest of your life,’ she told The Mirror.
Anne Nolan (pictured in August 2024) has admitted she has ‘anxiety about dying’ as she discussed her battle with breast cancer
‘You could kind of get a little bruise or a lump somewhere and you think, ”Oh my god, is that cancer?” It can always come back.’
Anne was diagnosed with breast cancer during Covid and was put on anti-anxiety medication because of how the ‘horrendous’ time – when she had to be hospitalised alone due to social distancing restrictions – affected her.
‘I still have anxiety but it’s not as bad, I have anxieties about dying, it is about the cancer coming back as well,’ she admitted.
‘I don’t want to die, I love being alive, I love being here.’
Five years on from her 2020 cancer battle and Anne received a letter with her latest test results, but she pushed the letter to one side after being consumed by fear.
She said she didn’t know how she would ‘handle’ any bad news, but thankfully, after finding the strength to read the letter, Anne found out she was officially cancer-free.
Anne admitted she cried after reading the news and was overwhelmed with relief, though her emotions were conflicted as she couldn’t help but think about her late siblings Bernie and Linda.
Anne still deals with some neuropathy – where nerves are damaged – in her feet her chemotherapy but is no longer taking any medication, apart from occasional anti-anxiety tablets.
Anne rose to fame as part of the Nolan Sisters alongside her siblings (L-R, in 1975) Bernadette, Denise, Linda, Anne, Maureen and Coleen (not pictured)
Giving an update on her health, Anne revealed she is officially cancer-free and is feeling ‘really well’ but told how the disease still has a massive impact on her life as she deals with anxiety
She said she is now able to do most things and is now focusing on spending time with her children Amy, 44, and Alex, 37, and three grandchildren Vinny, 15, Ryder, 13, and Navaeh, 10.
Anne’s cancer update comes just days after her brother Brian revealed he was given the all-clear amid his prostate cancer battle.
Brian, 70, was diagnosed with stage two prostate cancer just three days after his sister Linda died on January 15, 2025, following a 20-year breast cancer battle.
He became the fifth of the Nolan siblings to battle the disease, and he shared during an appearance on Loose Women that he was given the all-clear in a positive update.
Brian underwent surgery for the cancer, which involved doctors removing his prostate gland, and he gave fans his health update during a live TV appearance earlier this month.
‘There have been developments. I’ll start at the beginning. So I had the operation, it’s called a RALP, which means it’s a robotic-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy,’ he explained.
‘To make a long story short, my cancer was in the prostate gland, so they offered me a radical operation, which drew the whole cancer out.
‘I was basically in the hospital for 18 hours and I got the all clear last Tuesday that the cancer is completely gone and my bloods are back to normal.’
Cancer has significantly affected the Nolan family after they lost Bernie in 2013 and Linda (pictured) in January of this year, while Coleen and Brian have both battled the disease
Bernie Nolan, the second youngest of the family and lead vocalist in the Nolans group, died in 2013 at just 52 years old after battling breast cancer (pictured with Coleen in 2011)
His sister Coleen, 60, appeared on the Loose Women panel alongside him as he shared the news and she has now praised his strength for speaking on live TV about his health.
‘I’m so proud of him, because, since being diagnosed, he’s done so much to raise awareness of the condition,’ she wrote in her Mirror column.
‘Brian, I’m in awe of you and so impressed that you can go on live telly and talk so calmly and eloquently about this important subject.’
Brian initially went to his doctor after noticing he was needing to use the toilet a lot more, which started affecting his sleep and day-to-day life.
After blood tests he was told his PSA levels had risen, and he was then sent for an MRI scan before being told that they had found something.
Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, measured in nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL), are a blood test used to screen for prostate cancer, with higher levels potentially indicating prostate problems, though not necessarily cancer.
Brian initially kept his diagnosis a secret from his sisters because they were grieving the loss of their sibling Linda.
Amid his own struggles, he spent 28 hours sitting by Linda’s bedside in her final days.
Brian, 70, was diagnosed with stage two prostate cancer just three days after his sister Linda died on January 15, 2025, but he revealed he was given the all-clear earlier this month
Appearing on Loose Women in March, Coleen shared: ‘He went through all of this, none of us knew, at the same time organising everything for Linda.
‘Brian and Annie took control of the whole thing. At not one moment did I think something was up with Brian.’
While Brian added: ‘It was a conscious decision, we’d been through too much with Linda and Bernadette.
‘We’ve been through so much with cancer. I left it three or four days and I told you [his siblings] all individually.’
Brian described his diagnosis as ‘like being hit by a train’ and said he thought the worst when he was first diagnosed.
‘I just want cancer to leave us alone,’ Brian heartbreakingly told The Mirror.
‘You start plunging into the abyss of: ”I’m going to die”.’
Brian’s sisters have a history of cancer, with Coleen and Anne both receiving diagnoses as well as Bernie and Linda passing away from the disease.
There are eight Nolan siblings. Linda, Bernie, Maureen and Coleen Nolan are all pictured
Bernie Nolan, the second youngest of the family and lead vocalist in the Nolans group, tragically died in 2013 at just 52 years old after battling breast cancer.
Linda was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer in 2005 before getting the all-clear in 2006 – but in 2017 she was diagnosed with a form of incurable secondary cancer in her hip, which spread to her liver in 2020.
Three years later, she shared the news that the cancer had spread to her brain, with two tumours discovered on the left side of her brain which left her struggling with her speech and balance.
Linda tragically passed away on January 15, 2025, aged 65 following a 20-year breast cancer battle and suffering from double pneumonia.
Coleen was told she had skin cancer in 2023 while Anne has also battled the disease twice.
