Slade’s Noddy Holder in five year cancer battle as wife reveals he was given six months to live
NODDY Holder is living with throat cancer and was given six months to live when he was first diagnosed.
The Slade singer’s wife Suzan revealed Noddy’s secret health battle today in an emotional piece for her local newspaper.
Noddy, 77, has been living with the disease for five years and underwent a new trial of chemotherapy which has helped to keep him alive.
Suzan wrote: “Five years ago we were given the devastating news that he had oesophageal cancer and only had six months to live.
“I’m sorry if that comes as a bit of a shock; it came as a total bombshell to us too.
“We coped with it the only way we could, by hunkering down, sticking together and doing everything we could to survive it.
“We told only immediate close family and friends and I will never apologise to those we did not confide in, only to those who were forced to suffer pain and anguish alongside us as we attempted to navigate our way through this new and horrifying world.”
She added: “They held our hands and kept our confidence. We truly found out who our real friends are.”
Suzan, who married Noddy in 2004, said the Merry Xmas Everyone singer has kept positive throughout the experience
He received treatment at The Christie Hospital in Manchester and underwent a groundbreaking new form of chemotherapy which has helped keep him alive.
Recalling when Noddy underwent the “gruelling” course of chemo, Suzan wrote: “There were no guarantees, no one knew if it would have any effect, let alone work miracles, but he responded well.
“As anyone who has received a cancer diagnosis will know, the experts never like to use the word ‘cure’, but here we are five years later and he’s feeling good and looking great.”
Noddy returned to live music earlier this summer and played a gig with a Cheshire based musician, Tom Seals, in Dorset.
During the performance Noddy spoke about his experiences with Slade and turned the gig into a Desert Island Discs style performance.
Suzan went on to say that being up on stage and focusing on new projects has helped Noddy look to the future.
She went on to give her advice to families who had also been told that one of them has cancer.
Suzan said in Great British Life: “The only advice I can offer to anyone facing a similar battle right now is listen to your specialists and try to stay as positive as you can.”
She also thanked the staff at The Christie hospital and paid tribute to Noddy’s strength.
She added: “Noddy has always been great at living in the moment, not hankering for the past or worrying about the future.
“That attitude served him well and a lot of his recovery has been credited to his positive mental attitude. You need so much mental strength to get through something like this.
“I’ve always been impressed by my husband’s focus and determination but now I am completely in awe.”
Slade landed six UK No1 singles during their career as a group.
Their final song to hit the top spot, Merry Xmas Everyone, is their most famous tune – and is reported to bring in £500,000 in royalties every year.
Slade were first formed in Wolverhampton in 19666 with Dave Hill, Don Powell and Jim Lea joining Noddy.
They went on to become one of the biggest British rock bands of the Seventies.