Girls Aloud have paid tribute to Sarah Harding on the fifth anniversary of her death.
Sarah tragically died in 2021 at the age of 39, just a year after she publicly shared her cancer diagnosis, leaving fans, and her Girls Aloud bandmates, devastated.
Nicola Roberts, 40, shared an image of the band back in 2005 for Comic Relief on Instagram on Saturday, and said she was thinking of the singer’s mother, Marie.
She wrote: ‘It’s hard to believe it’s been five years already since Sarah’s passing.
‘So much has happened that she should have been a part of. My love is particularly with Marie today.
‘Sitting with myself, hormones and sleep deprivation are probably not helping but as I type, I’m feeling very sad and transported to this day 5 years ago. Such a milestone would have most likely had this impact anyway.
Girls Aloud have paid tribute to Sarah Harding on the fifth anniversary of her death (pictured L-R Sarah, Kimberley Walsh, Cheryl, Nicola Roberts and Nadine Coyle in 2005)
Sarah tragically died in 2021 at the age of 39, just a year after she publicly shared her cancer diagnosis, leaving fans, and her Girls Aloud bandmates, devastated
Nicola wrote: ‘It’s hard to believe it’s been five years already since Sarah’s passing.’So much has happened that she should have been a part of. My love is particularly with Marie today’
‘Most definitely for all her friends and family. I’m also feeling proud that Sarah left such a legacy with her charity and that everyone that vowed to help her on that quest is still powering through for that silver lining she was so passionate about. She’s saving lives. Wish to everything she didn’t have to lose her own xx’.
Katie Piper commented: ‘Beautiful words. Thinking of you all’, while Sugababes’ Keisha Buchanan said: ‘Sarah always missed.’
Kimberley Walsh, 44, meanwhile reposted the band’s tribute on their Instagram page alongside the caption: ‘Five years’ with a heartbroken emoji.
Back in June, Nadine Coyle spoke about Sarah’s battle with the disease during a special live episode of Olivia Attwood‘s podcast Olivia’s House, where she also reflected on being told by Sarah herself that her upcoming Christmas could be her last.
Olivia noted that Sarah had written in her book that she and Nadine had spent the evening together at her home eating ‘cheese and quail’s eggs’, soon after she learned of her cancer diagnosis.
Nadine then explained: ‘I think the night she’s talking about, because we had done…
‘We had loads of fun times, and the nights, there was a night that I had went up to, she was living in Manchester at the time, this gorgeous house.
‘And we’d went out and got, she wanted langoustines, and always what I remember she wanted quails eggs and celery salt… I can’t pass a quails egg without a bit of celery salt these days. I suggest try it. It’s very good.
‘And I always think of Sarah. So we were cooking, and we had other friends around and- I just remember it being, she was told this was gonna be her last Christmas, so we went and got a Christmas tree.
‘We, got everything to decorate the Christmas tree. Got all that food to have a lovely night and decorate it. And I was like, “But that can’t be real.” No. surely somebody’s gotten it wrong.
Kimberley Walsh, 44, meanwhile reposted the band’s tribute on their Instagram page alongside the caption: ‘Five years’ with a heartbroken emoji
‘It can’t be, what do you mean your last Chri- There’s no way that that can be real. Unfathomable. It’s like, what do you mean?
‘But there’s no way. There’s no… And I was like, “But I, it just can’t, it just can’t happen.
‘There’s just no… I’m just gonna refuse to believe that that’s just part of-just don’t believe them. Maybe they’re, maybe it’s all some sort of big sick joke, or maybe we’re dreaming.”’
Nadine also shared the moment she first learned about Sarah’s diagnosis, explaining: ‘I thought this is, you know, just gonna be a thing that just needs to be handled and needs to be taken care of and dealt with.’
Olivia’s House has partnered with Tombola and the charity Breast Cancer Now for the special episode, to encourage people to check in on their friends, and remind them to check their breasts, as it could save their lives.
It comes after new research revealed 53% of women are more likely to check their breasts when a friend reminds them, as 10.9 million (38%) admit to neglecting their health.
Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world and affects more than two MILLION women a year
Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. Each year in the UK there are more than 55,000 new cases, and the disease claims the lives of 11,500 women. In the US, it strikes 266,000 each year and kills 40,000. But what causes it and how can it be treated?
What is breast cancer?
It comes from a cancerous cell which develops in the lining of a duct or lobule in one of the breasts.
When the breast cancer has spread into surrounding tissue it is called ‘invasive’. Some people are diagnosed with ‘carcinoma in situ’, where no cancer cells have grown beyond the duct or lobule.
Most cases develop in those over the age of 50 but younger women are sometimes affected. Breast cancer can develop in men, though this is rare.
Staging indicates how big the cancer is and whether it has spread. Stage 1 is the earliest stage and stage 4 means the cancer has spread to another part of the body.
The cancerous cells are graded from low, which means a slow growth, to high, which is fast-growing. High-grade cancers are more likely to come back after they have first been treated.
What causes breast cancer?
A cancerous tumour starts from one abnormal cell. The exact reason why a cell becomes cancerous is unclear. It is thought that something damages or alters certain genes in the cell. This makes the cell abnormal and multiply ‘out of control’.
Although breast cancer can develop for no apparent reason, there are some risk factors that can increase the chance, such as genetics.
What are the symptoms of breast cancer?
The usual first symptom is a painless lump in the breast, although most are not cancerous and are fluid-filled cysts, which are benign.
The first place that breast cancer usually spreads to is the lymph nodes in the armpit. If this occurs you will develop a swelling or lump in an armpit.
How is breast cancer diagnosed?
- Initial assessment: A doctor examines the breasts and armpits. They may do tests such as a mammogram, a special X-ray of the breast tissue which can indicate the possibility of tumours.
- Biopsy: A biopsy is when a small sample of tissue is removed from a part of the body. The sample is then examined under a microscope to look for abnormal cells. The sample can confirm or rule out cancer.
If you are confirmed to have breast cancer, further tests may be needed to assess if it has spread. For example, blood tests, an ultrasound scan of the liver or a chest X-ray.
How is breast cancer treated?
Treatment options which may be considered include surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormone treatment. Often a combination of two or more of these treatments are used.
- Surgery: Breast-conserving surgery or the removal of the affected breast depending on the size of the tumour.
- Radiotherapy: A treatment which uses high energy beams of radiation focused on cancerous tissue. This kills cancer cells, or stops them from multiplying. It is mainly used in addition to surgery.
- Chemotherapy: A treatment of cancer by using anti-cancer drugs which kill cancer cells, or stop them from multiplying.
- Hormone treatments: Some types of breast cancer are affected by the ‘female’ hormone oestrogen, which can stimulate the cancer cells to divide and multiply. Treatments which reduce the level of these hormones, or prevent them from working, are commonly used in people with breast cancer.
How successful is treatment?
The outlook is best in those who are diagnosed when the cancer is still small, and has not spread. Surgical removal of a tumour in an early stage may then give a good chance of cure.
The routine mammography offered to women between the ages of 50 and 71 means more breast cancers are being diagnosed and treated at an early stage.
For more information visit breastcancernow.org or call its free helpline on 0808 800 6000
