Michelle Heaton will have to choose between facing a double mastectomy or having her ovaries removed to potentially save her life in her battle against cancer.
Invited on ITV1's Lorraine this morning, the singer and model broke down in tears as she told the presenter about the heartbreaking decision she faces to beat BRCA2 cancer. (Oct 9)
Diagnosed four months ago, Michelle has an 80 per cent chance of developing breast cancer and 30 per cent chance of developing ovarian cancer.
But the 33-year-old also admitted the situation had led her to another very hard decision: “I know it's an awful thing to think, but the last thing that you want to do is have your little baby without a mum. So I almost give my husband permission to find somebody else if anything ever happens to me because I'd want her to have a mum.”
She went on to describe the guilt she felt after finding out that her daughter may inherit the BRCA2 gene: “A major part for me finding out that I had the gene was the guilt of possibly passing it on to Faith. She now has a 50% chance of inheriting the gene from me, so I believe when she's 18 she will be legal to be genetically tested.”
Speaking with other women carrier of the same gene, Michelle Heaton reflected on the difficulty of the decision ahead of her: "I think what's difficult is timing it right. The double mastectomy not so much because obviously that's not going to affect me having children and hormonally.
"But getting my ovaries removed is going to onset menopause and I won't be allowed to have children anymore. I'm absolutely fortunate that I've got one gorgeous child, and if that's the only one that I have then I'm fortunate, but of course I'd love more."
Watch ITV1's Lorraine next Tuesday (16 October) to see the second part of Michelle's interview.
Michelle With Her Celeb Mates
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