Liberty X Star To Have her Breasts Removed

Former Liberty X star Michelle Heaton has decided to have her breasts removed "sooner rather than later" after learning that she has an 80% chance of developing cancer.

The 33-year-old singer said her decision to have a double mastectomy and potentially have her ovaries removed as well was a "no-brainer".

She hopes to have preventative surgery on her breasts and would think about having her ovaries removed later so she can have another child.

The mother-of-one learned about four months ago that she has a mutated gene called BRCA2 which means she is likely to develop breast cancer. She also has a 30% chance of ovarian cancer.

She told ITV1 show Lorraine she had come to the decision after discussing it with a surgeon and wanted to "go down the route of a double mastectomy and reconstruction using implants".

Heaton said: "I feel like it's a no-brainer. I think having such a high risk of breast cancer - albeit I know in my lifetime - so right now I know it's not particularly 80% but every day that goes past I'm constantly feeling my breasts.

"I'm looking for things that aren't even there, I'm worried, I'm looking for side effects and I just think that preventative surgery is the best option for me."

She said the radical measure was "not for everybody".

But she had talked to people who had gone through the surgery and other women who did not have the preventative surgery but later contracted cancer.

It was "enough for me to realise that this is the best option for me", she said.

Heaton, who is married to Hugh Hanley, said there was a 50% chance of their daughter, Faith, who was born in January, inheriting the gene.