Coleen Nolan and her sisters have been in the spotlight since forming the girl group The Nolans in the 80s. In recent years, the close family unit has attracted headlines for more tragic reasons. Coleen’s sister Bernie died from breast cancer in 2013, while sister Linda has incurable cancer and her other sibling Anne is receiving treatment for breast cancer.
Coleen opened up about her own cancer risk on Piers Morgan’s Life Stories, which airs tonight on ITV.
The Loose Women panelist has been warned her risk of getting cancer is “incredibly high”.
In a preview from The Mirror, Coleen says: “I’m seriously looking into elective mastectomy. I’ve spoken to a specialist so far to see.
“I’ve said, ‘look what are my chances of this’ and he said, ‘incredibly high’ and although we don’t carry the gene – the known gene BRCA1 and BRCA2 – he said it will be gene related somewhere, it will just be a gene we haven’t found.”
READ MORE: Coleen Nolan health: Loose women star’s cancer risk after sisters diagnosed with disease
“Most breast lumps are not cancerous, but it’s always best to have them checked by a doctor,” advises the health body.
It says to see a GP if you notice any of the following:
- A new lump or area of thickened tissue in either breast that was not there before
- A change in the size or shape of one or both breasts
- A discharge of fluid from either of your nipples
- A lump or swelling in either of your armpits
- Dimpling on the skin of your breasts
- A rash on or around your nipple
- A change in the appearance of your nipple, such as becoming sunken into your breast.
Am I at risk?
The causes of breast cancer are not fully understood, making it difficult to say why one woman may develop breast cancer and another may not.
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However, there are risk factors known to affect your likelihood of developing breast cancer.
Some of these risk factors are modifiable and others you cannot do anything about.
Having one or more of the following risk factors doesn’t mean that you will definitely get breast cancer.
According to Cancer Research UK, a modifiable risk factor for breast cancer is being overweight.
“Women who are overweight after their menopause have a higher risk of breast cancer than women who are not overweight,” warns the charity.
Being overweight means having a body mass index (BMI) of between 25 and 30.
BMI is a measure that uses your height and weight to work out whether you are a healthy weight.
As in Coleen’s case, some people have a higher risk of developing breast cancer than the general population because other members of their family have had particular cancers.
According to Cancer Research UK, having a mother, sister or daughter diagnosed with breast cancer increases the risk of breast cancer.
Source: Daily Express
