Brian Nolan has revealed the one key symptom he nearly missed as he opened up about his cancer diagnosis. It was revealed over the weekend that Brian had been diagnosed with level 2 prostate cancer, just days after his sister Linda's funeral.
The family have been horribly affected by cancer over the years. Bernie died in 2013 from breast cancer at the age of 52, whilst Linda passed away earlier this year of double pneumonia, following a years-long battle with the disease. Anne, 74, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2000 and Coleen had skin cancer in 2023.
Speaking on Loose Women today, Brian said: "I had urinary problem - a common thing with men of our age. I was thinking it's affecting my life, not being able to go out too far. So I went to my GP and asked what was wrong. He said it could be bladder, it could be anything. What we'll do is we'll give you a PSA inspection. It's just two blood tests over two weeks."
Following the blood tests, Brian found out he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Urging viewers, it was nothing to be worried about, he explained that he was sent for an MRI scan and found something they wanted to investigate.
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The biopsy was then undertaken and I immediately went, 'I've got cancer', and he said, 'yes you've got cancer.' It's just something in your life you really don't want to hear. I was completely speechless. My wife was with me, she broke down a little bit."
Later, Coleen heaped praise on her brother Brian for dealing with everything that happened to Linda whilst having his own diagnosis. He had kept all this secret from the family, focusing instead on Linda's final days and her funeral.
Brian previously admitted he was desperate for cancer to leave their family alone. He said: "I just want cancer to leave us alone. You’re never ready for somebody to say: ‘Yes, you’ve got cancer’. It’s like being hit by a train.
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"You start plunging into the abyss of: ‘I’m going to die’. The urologist stood up and said ‘We’re going to treat this and we’re going to cure this’. I’m focusing on that and hope to God I can have the courage my sisters had."
Coleen herself was left speechless when she learned of Brian's diagnosis and she went "completely numb".
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"I couldn’t speak. I went completely numb and about an hour later I wanted to punch walls and scream. In our family, cancer’s just there. But he was so positive and I’m just so proud of him. We’re a family that treat everything with as much humour as possible and we go ‘OK, we can face this together.’ That’s what we’ll do," she said.
Brian shared his struggles on losing his family members to cancer, sharing: "I had a bad moment yesterday just driving the car. I had a terrible moment about Linda. Linda and Bernie were forces of nature. Even when Linda was on her Zimmer frame she was still feisty. To lose people like that is really difficult."
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