Liberty X star Michelle Heaton to undergo double mastectomy to reduce cancer risk

Former Liberty X star Michelle Heaton said her decision to have a double mastectomy and potentially have her ovaries removed as well was a "no-brainer" after being diagnosed with an 80% chance of developing breast cancer.

The 33-year-old star said she hopes to have preventative surgery on her breasts "sooner rather than later" and would think about having her ovaries removed before she is 40 so she can have another child.

She was diagnosed about four months ago with a mutated gene called BRCA2 which means she is likely to develop breast cancer and 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".

She 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 per cent 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.

"It's not for everybody, but talking to other women and talking to people who have gone through it and talking to women who didn't have the preventative surgery but later contracted cancer, is enough for me to realise that this is the best option for me. So I'm hoping that it can be done sooner rather than later so I can just get on with things."

Heaton said there was a 50% chance of her daughter, who was born in January, inheriting the gene.