Singer Sarah Harding has revealed that she was placed in an induced coma when she developed sepsis after her breast cancer diagnosis.
The Girls Aloud star tells the story of her ordeal in her new book Hear Me Out, with extracts published in The London Times.
She says that she developed sepsis after a port-a-cath[ether] was fitted in order for her to receive chemotherapy.
"With both my lungs and kidneys failing, doctors decided to put me into an induced coma," the 39-year-old recounts.
"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."
After she was brought out of the coma, Harding underwent a mastectomy and chemotherapy.
She has urged people not to delay in visiting a doctor if they have concerns about their health, and says that is one of her motivations for writing her book.
"At first I thought it was just a cyst," she says. "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," she continues. "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."
Harding announced her cancer diagnosis last August.
"Nothing is certain anymore," she tells The Times. "I'm just grateful to wake up every day and live my best life, because now I know just how precious it is."
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