Sarah Harding dies age 39 after losing cancer battle
Sarah Harding dies age 39 after losing breast cancer battle: Girls Aloud star’s mother breaks tragic news that she ‘slipped away peacefully’ and thanks fans for their ‘strength and comfort’
In August 2020, Sarah revealed her cancer diagnosis and told fans she’d been battling the disease for several months with weekly chemotherapy sessionsHaving released a book about her battle, Sarah revealed that tumours in her brain and lung had shrunk with treatmentAccording to a source, Sarah ‘was on a journey to find herself musically and re-brand as a blues artist, as that’s where her passion is’If you have been affected by this story, call Macmillan Cancer Support on 0808 808 00 00
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Sarah Harding, who shot to fame as a member of the girl band Girls Aloud, has today died at the age of 39.
The singer, who also modelled and had a starring role in the St Trinian’s film series, passed away earlier today after a battle with breast cancer, her family announced.
Sarah, who teamed up with the likes of Cheryl Tweedy and Nadine Coyle to form Girls Aloud while on reality singing show Pop Stars: The Rivals, revealed last year she had been diagnosed with the condition.
A message from Sarah’s mother Marie was posted to the star’s Instagram account today, which read: ‘It’s with deep heartbreak that today I’m sharing the news that my beautiful daughter Sarah has sadly passed away.
‘Many of you will know of Sarah’s battle with cancer and that she fought so strongly from her diagnosis until her last day.
‘She slipped away peacefully this morning. I’d like to thank everyone for their kind support over the past year. It meant the world to Sarah and it gave her great strength and comfort to know she was loved.
‘I know she won’t want to be remembered for her fight against this terrible disease – she was a bright shining star and I hope that’s how she can be remembered instead. Marie x’
Tragic news: Girls Aloud star Sarah Harding has died. The singer passed away on Sunday morning aged 39, after battling cancer. Pictured: Her mother posted this image of the singer announcing her death on Instagram today
Star: The singer was one fifth of Girls Aloud, who were formed in the early noughties. She is pictured in 2003 with bandmates [Top L-R] Nicola Roberts, Nadine Coyle, [Bottom L-R] Kimberley Walsh and Cheryl
A message from Sarah’s mother Marie was posted to her Instagram account. It read: ‘It’s with deep heartbreak that today I’m sharing the news that my beautiful daughter Sarah has sadly passed away’
A message from Sarah’s mother Marie was posted to her Instagram account. It read: ‘It’s with deep heartbreak that today I’m sharing the news that my beautiful daughter Sarah has sadly passed away’
Born in Ascot, Berkshire, in 1981, Sarah spent most of her school years in Stockport, Greater Manchester. She worked in a nightclub promotions team after leaving school.
She also toured North West England performing at pubs, social clubs, and caravan parks to support herself while pushing for a career in the arts.
Sarah found fame in 2002 when she won a place on Popstars: The Rivals – a precursor to the Pop Idol franchise.
She teamed up with, Cheryl Tweedy, Nadine Coyle, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh in Girls Aloud and the band took the UK by storm soon after.
The group achieved twenty consecutive top ten singles – including four number ones – in the UK and six platinum studio albums before the band took a hiatus in 2009.
While the group reformed a number of times over the next ten years, Sarah pursued a variety of other avenues, including acting and modelling.
Sarah had a starring role as Roxy in St Trinian’s 2: The Legend of Fritton’s Gold, and had a brief stint in hit soap Coronation Street in 2016. She won Celebrity Big Brother in 2017, beating singer Amelia Lily and Made in Chelsea star Sam Thompson.
Sarah was reportedly planning a solo career as a blues singer prior to her cancer diagnosis and had been honing her skills as a guitarist before the diagnosis last August.
Speaking to The Sun, a source said: ‘Sarah really wanted to revamp herself as an altogether different kind of artist to her Girls Aloud days. She was on a journey to find herself musically and re-brand as a blues artist, as that’s where her passion is.
‘She was playing guitar all night until her fingers bled and watching videos of her favourite performers in order to perfect her sound.
‘Her health issues meant she didn’t get a chance to lay down any tracks, but there’s hope she will eventually be well enough to put out the kind of music she loves.
‘She was looking forward to being in the driving seat and surprising people.’
Sarah recently revealed she is taking cannabis oil to ease her pain as she continues to undergo treatment for breast cancer.
Plans: Sarah was reportedly planning a solo career as a blue singer prior to her cancer diagnosis and had been honing her skills as a guitarist before the diagnosis last August [pictured in 2018]
A source said: ‘Sarah really wanted to revamp herself as an altogether different kind of artist to her Girls Aloud days’ [Girls Aloud are pictured in 2007]
Sarah had a starring role as Roxy in St Trinian’s 2: The Legend of Fritton’s Gold, and had a brief stint in hit soap Coronation Street in 2016. She won Celebrity Big Brother in 2017, beating singer Amelia Lily and Made in Chelsea star Sam Thompson.
Sarah was reportedly planning a solo career as a blues singer prior to her cancer diagnosis and had been honing her skills as a guitarist before the diagnosis last August
While Girls Aloud reformed a number of times over the next ten years, Sarah pursued a variety of other avenues, including acting and modelling
In an extract from her autobiography Hear Me Out, the pop star said she decided to try the treatment after it was recommended to her by pal Duncan James.
It comes after Sarah also revealed that her cancer treatment is ‘moving in the right direction’ and her tumours have ‘shrunk,’ since she publicly revealed her diagnosis back in August.
In her book Sarah revealed Duncan suggested she try CBD oil after he found benefits from the treatment when he suffered a back injury during a stage show.
She said: ‘He’d used it after he suffered a massive back injury, while he was doing drag and wearing heels in Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert.
‘I figured that if it was something that could help Duncan in that situation, then I should definitely give it a go.’
Improving: Sarah recently revealed she’s taking cannabis oil to ease her pain as she continues to undergo treatment for breast cancer. In an extract from her autobiography Hear Me Out, the pop star said she decided to try the treatment after it was recommended to her by pal Duncan James
Sarah found fame in 2002 when she won a place on Popstars: The Rivals – a precursor to the Pop Idol franchise. She teamed up with, Cheryl Tweedy, Nadine Coyle, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh in Girls Aloud and the band took the UK by storm soon after
The group achieved twenty consecutive top ten singles – including four number ones – in the UK and six platinum studio albums before the band took a hiatus in 2009.
Pictured left: Singer Sarah Harding from pop group Girls Aloud performing on stage at the Fox FM Party in the Park, held at South Park in Oxford. Pictured right: Sarah Harding walks into the Gents toilets at the Hard Rock Calling Festival in Hyde Park, London, in 2010
Pictured: Sarah Harding arriving at the 2013 Pride of Britain awards at Grosvenor House, London
Illness: In another tragic update from the book, she penned: ‘In December my doctor told me that the upcoming Christmas would probably be my last. I don’t want an exact prognosis’
The musician revealed she had been battling breast cancer in August 2020 and recently said she did not know how many months she had left to live after her cancer spread to her spine
Pictured left: Sarah Harding attends the Pride of Britain awards at Grosvenor House, on October 7, 2013. Pictured right: Girls Aloud singer Sarah Harding leaves the New Wimbledon Theatre in London after making her stage debut in a new production of Ghost
CBD oil is a legal cannabinoid that can be sold in the UK, and is thought to have some medicinal properties, including relieving inflammation, pain and anxiety.
It comes after Sarah revealed tumours in her brain and lung have shrunk with treatment.
The musician revealed she had been battling breast cancer in August 2020 and recently said she did not know how many months she had left to live after her cancer spread to her spine.
The media personality spoke of her joy that treatment – including weekly chemotherapy sessions – had achieved this milestone and that she was able to enjoy a ‘relaxing Christmas.’
Ending the book, Sarah wrote: ‘MRI scans at the end of December revealed that the tumours in my brain and in my lung have shrunk a bit with the treatment.’
Pictured: The Prince of Wales meeting Girls Aloud backstage at the Royal Variety Performance in London in 2004
Pictured left in 2013: Sarah Harding arriving for the UK film premiere of Run For Your Wife, at the Odeon Leicester Square, central London. Pictured right: Sarah Harding arrives for the 2010 Empire Film Awards at a hotel in central London
Pictured left: Singer Sarah Harding supporting a charity day at the London offices of Bloomberg Tradebook in 2015. Pictured right: Sarah Harding during the 13th BGC Annual Charity Day at Canary Wharf in London in 2018
Singer Sarah Harding from British band Girls Aloud, attends the Brit Awards 2009 ceremony at Earls Court exhibition centre in London
The TV star said that while she didn’t know ‘exactly what this means’, ‘right now, every little victory feels momentous.
She continued: ‘With this news under my belt, I was able to enjoy a relaxing quiet Christmas with mum and yes, I got plenty of lovely Christmas pressies.’
Sarah ends the book with: ‘At the moment, I’m just grateful to wake up every day and live my best life, because now I know just how precious it is.’
In a further recent excerpt from the book, shared by The Times on Saturday, Sarah said Christmas 2020 was ‘probably her last.’
In the latest tragic update from the book, she penned: ‘In December my doctor told me that the upcoming Christmas would probably be my last. 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. I’m trying to live and enjoy every second of my life, however long it might be. I am having a glass of wine or two during all this, because it helps me relax.’
The singer added that she now wants to try and ‘enjoy’ herself as she doesn’t know ‘how many months I’ve got left’.
At present, the Call The Shots hitmaker is considering her options for treatment of the secondary tumour at the base of her spine, which may now have spread to her brain.
However, she’s adamant that she doesn’t want to undergo radiotherapy and risk losing her hair, with Sarah noting that although this may sound ‘vain’, she feels that if she only has months left to live then it’s not worth it.
The star explained how after facing the agony of losing her breast, she doesn’t want to lose her signature blonde locks as well.
‘I figured I should definitely give it a go’: The Girls Aloud star, 39, said she decided to try CBD after revealing her cancer treatment is ‘moving in the right direction’
Sharing an update: In January, the singer told her Instagram followers that she had a ‘lovely but quiet’ Christmas with her mother and their dogs, rounding out a ‘strange’ year
Sarah went to to say that her priority now is to spent as much time as possible with her mother and friends before she dies, while the star is also hoping to throw a huge party to say ‘goodbye’ to her loved ones.
As Sarah looked back at the start of her journey, she added: ‘At first I thought it was just a cyst. The trouble was the pain was getting worse. It got so bad that I couldn’t sleep in a bed. Eventually my skin started to bruise. By now I was terrified.
‘One day I woke up realising I’d been in denial. Yes there was a pandemic but it was almost as if I’d been using that as an excuse not to face up to the fact that something was very wrong.’
Sarah went on to detail her experience of being put into a coma for an extended period of time, and added that she struggled to form speech even when she was taken out of it.
Sarah explained: ‘With both my lungs and kidneys failing, doctors decided to put me into an induced coma. Even once I was off the ventilator I couldn’t speak properly. All I could do was make noises like a chimpanzee trying to communicate.’
If you have been affected by this story, call Macmillan Cancer Support on 0808 808 00 00.
