A brave mum-of-three will follow in Angelina Jolie’s footsteps to have her ovaries removed after discovering she carries a faulty gene.
Charlotte Pittuck, 32, found out she carried the BRAC2 gene, which increases her risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer, in 2009 after her aunt and grandmother both suffered with breast cancer in their early 40s.
Testing positive for the genetic fault meant that her risk of breast cancer was 85 per cent.
Two years ago, she underwent a double mastectomy as a preventative measure and insists she will have her ovaries removed too, to remove most of the chance of getting ovarian cancer.
Her chances of getting breast cancer have now dropped down to just six per cent, below the national average.
Mrs Pittuck, of Church Street, Great Dunmow, said: “Eight-five per cent is such a high risk, I knew I would take the measure of having a double mastectomy.
“I didn’t want to be always worrying and always checking. I knew one day I would get a cancer diagnosis and I wanted to be there for my children."
See this week's Braintree and Witham Times for the full story.
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