Nolan Sister Bernie has cancer

SINGER and actress Bernie Nolan has revealed she has breast cancer. She was diagnosed last week and told she faced a mastectomy and chemotherapy.

The Nolan Sisters singer, 49, said: "I'm going to kick this cancer's ass."

Born in Dublin, Bernie spent 20 years singing with her sisters before moving into television. She appeared in the Channel 4 soap Brookside and played Sergeant Sheelagh Murphy in The Bill, as well as starring in musicals and the reality TV show Pop Star to Opera Star.

The singer said telling her ten-year-old daughter, Erin, was difficult but gave her the courage to fight the disease. She added: "The best thing about having a child is that I have the extra strength because I want to see her grow up and I have to be strong for her."

She said the illness had put "a cloud" over her life.

Two of the singer's sisters, Anne and Linda, also fought the disease and she said another sister, Maureen, broke down when she told her the news.

She said: "She was devastated but my sisters have all been so supportive even though they're climbing the walls with worry."