SHOCK DISCOVERY
Coleen Nolan reveals secret cancer scare as her sister battles disease that has ravaged their family
COLEEN Nolan has revealed she had a secret skin cancer scare.
The Loose Women star, 58, admitted she was terrified to get it checked as her sister Linda battles incurable cancer.
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Coleen spoke out on the ITV show today to raise awareness for others.
She admits for the past six months she's been treated for a red mark on her shoulder that she thought was eczema.
Coleen said: "It turned out to be a type of cancer that doesn't necessarily spread but you do need to treat it with chemo cream."
After going back for the results, Coleen pointed out a mark underneath her eye.
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The doctors explained it's melanoma skin cancer.
She will now be treated again with the chemotherapy cream before a decision is made whether it can be cut out.
Coleen admitted: "It hits you like a ton of bricks.
"It was so shocking, but my typical instinct was to just burst out hysterically laughing.
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"I'm so sick of cancer. Also, my instinct was not to tell my family. It's nothing like what my sisters have gone through. It seemed so pathetic."
Coleen said she still felt embarrassed to speak out about it on Loose Women today, but said she wanted to help others.
She shared: "It feels a bit dramatic in comparison to everyone else because I've not been ill.
"But I do The Real Full Monty every year,"
"The one thing we keep putting out is awareness. It's all about getting checked out, even if it could be nothing.
"I thought I need to take a leaf out of my own book."
Cancer has ravaged Coleen's family - having lost their sister Bernie to breast cancer in 2010 aged 52.
Linda recently revealed that her cancer had spread to her brain after first being diagnosed with stage three breast cancer in 2005.
The 64-year-old shaved her head as she undergoes gruelling chemotherapy.
Anne was the first Nolan sister to battle the disease.
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The 72-year-old was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000 and then stage three breast cancer 20 years later.
Linda found out she had incurable liver cancer just a few days later.
Common signs of melanoma
LIKE with any cancer, survival rates are best when the illness is detected fast.
The most common sign of melanoma is the appearance of a new mole or a change in an existing mole.
- Mole with a mix of colours
- Large mole
- Mole that changes over time
- Swollen mole
- Bleeding mole
- Itchy mole
- Crusty mole
- Mole in the shape of a line under a nail
In women, the most common specific location for melanoma skin cancers in the UK is the legs.
Men are more likely to see melanomas in their trunk - the back or torso.
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