Sarah Harding has explained why she turned down radiotherapy for a secondary tumour after her breast cancer spread.
The Girls Aloud star made the heartbreaking decision because she already knew her cancer was advanced, and didn't want to spend the limited time she has left without hair.
Sarah explained her difficult choice in an excerpt of her new book published by The Times Magazine on Saturday, saying she knew not everyone would agree.
The 39-year-old wrote: "There’s an option for radiotherapy on my skull but I don’t want to go through that and lose my hair at this stage, especially with no guarantees at the end of it."
While Sarah said some might think she is being 'vain', she doesn't think losing her hair is worth it when it wouldn't make a big difference to her prospects.
She explained: "I don’t want to feel like I have to spend whatever time I have left hiding away."
Sarah has just 'months' left after doctors found the new tumour, which she says is located at the base of her spine and possibly in her brain.
Her treatment has already seen Sarah have a breast removed, and she described in detail how traumatic this has been.
She said the painful surgery left her unable to look in the mirror, feeling like part of her womanhood had gone, and made it 'very hard to wake up every morning'.
Too unwell to have reconstruction surgery, Sarah wrote: "The loss of it breaks my heart."
Her words come as Sarah urged fans to check their breasts regularly and seek medical help if they notice any changes.
She herself had been suffering pain from a lump in her breast for some time before going to the doctor last summer, as she was afraid to visit the office during the pandemic.
Sarah described how she self-medicated with painkillers, only seeking help when she accidentally took too many. By then she was very unwell and developed sepsis, spending two weeks in an induced coma and then two more weeks in intensive care.
Her cancer is now advanced and, she said, she has been told that Christmas 2020 was probably her last.
* Hear Me Out by Sarah Harding is published by Ebury on Thursday
