Sarah Harding says Christmas 2020 was ‘probably my last’ as cancer spreads to spine

Girls Aloud singer announced in August that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer

Harding in 2017 (David Fisher/Shutterstock)

Sarah Harding was told by a doctor that Christmas 2020 “would probably be her last” following her breast cancer diagnosis.

In August, the Girls Aloud star shared a selfie from hospital to social media as she announced that the cancer had spread to other parts of her body.

In an extract from her memoir Hear Me Out shared in The Times, the singer revealed that she underwent a mastectomy and intensive chemotherapy after her diagnosis in August.

While it initially “seemed like the chemo was working”, she writes, the cancer has spread further, with a secondary tumour growing on either the base of her spine or her brain.

“In December my doctor told me that the upcoming Christmas would probably be my last,” Harding said. “I don’t want an exact prognosis. I don’t know why anyone would want that. Comfort and being as pain-free as possible is what’s important to me now.”

The 39-year-old said that while she is considering treatment options, she doesn’t want to have radiotherapy and lose her hair “with no guarantees at the end of it”.

Read more: Sarah Harding’s breast cancer news says a lot about celebrity culture

“It might seem vain thinking about my hair, but my thinking was that if there’s a chance I’ve only got six months, then I’ve got six months,” she wrote.

“Losing my hair probably wasn’t going to change that, so if there’s another way to manage the disease or treat it, then let’s do that. I don’t want to feel like I have to spend whatever time I have left hiding away.”

She also revealed that she nearly died of sepsis in hospital and had to be put into a coma for two weeks.

Rising to fame on Popstars: The Rivals, Harding performed with Girls Aloud from 2002 to 2013, when the band went their separate ways. In 2017, she won Celebrity Big Brother.