Coleen Nolan has spoken up about her recent skin cancer fear following a family history of the disease, describing the event as “very terrifying.”
On Monday’s Loose Women, she spoke openly about her health with Ruth Langsford, Brenda Edwards, and Gloria Hunniford.
Coleen’s sister, Bernie Nolan, died of cancer in 2013 at the age of 52, and Linda Nolan, 64, reported in March this year that her disease had progressed to her brain.
Anna Nolan reported in 2022 that she has been cancer-free for the second time.
Coleen, 58, stated on Loose Women that she discovered a ‘little patch of skin’ on her shoulder that appeared rather red, and that while it wasn’t receding, it ‘wasn’t disturbing’ her.
Coleen went to see a dermatologist for a separate issue approximately six or seven months ago, when she remembered to remind him about the skin on her shoulder, which she was informed was a basal cell carcinoma.
Basal cell carcinoma, a form of skin cancer, ‘does not usually spread to other parts of the body’, the NHS outlines.
‘It hits you like a ton of bricks,’ Coleen told her co-hosts. ‘It was so shocking that my first instinct, typical me, was to laugh hysterically. I just thought that was the most ridiculous thing. I’m sick of cancer,’ she stated, admitting that at first she didn’t want to tell anyone in her family, particularly considering what her sister Linda was going through.
‘It seemed so pathetic,’ she added.
Coleen applied chemotherapeutic lotion to the patch of skin on her shoulder before alerting the doctor to another patch of skin on her nose, which he confirmed was melanoma, a kind of skin cancer that may spread to other parts of the body.
Coleen said she thought the attention was “a little theatrical” because she hadn’t felt bad at all, and she plans to use the chemo cream on her nose as well.
Nonetheless, the other presenters praised her for raising awareness and encouraging others to examine their bodies, especially given the yearly work she does with The Real Full Monty to do the same.
What are symptoms of skin cancer?
Cancer Research UK emphasises that skin cancers ‘can look very different and symptoms can vary’, and some of the symptoms ‘are similar to other conditions’.
The charity states that common symptoms of skin cancer include:
- A sore or area of skin that doesn’t heal within four weeks
- A sore or area of skin that looks unusual
- A sore or area of skin that hurts, is itchy, bleeds, crusts or scabs for more than four weeks
What should you look out for? Cancer Research UK says to keep on the lookout for:
- A sore that doesn’t heal, which can look see-through, shiny, pink, pearly white or red, which may feel sore, rough and have raised edges
- An ulcer that doesn’t heal within four weeks
- A lump that might be small, slow-growing, shiny, pink or red
- Red patches on your skin that could be itchy
- A change to a freckle or a mole
For more information on symptoms of melanoma skin cancer, click here.
Loose Women airs weekdays from 12.30pm on ITV.
Source My Celebrity Life.