Like Emmerdale’s Chas Dingle, I received devastating news about a cancer gene | Soaps [Video]

Watching Emmerdale’s Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter) find out she has BRCA2 gene and navigate cancer has been emotional for all of the show’s viewers.

Sadly, I can relate all too well.

I found out that I was BRCA2 positive by chance.

I took a DNA test, mainly for fun. When the results came back it didn’t seem like a big deal, everyone has a risk of cancer, but the email informing me did tell me to inform my GP. It was then that I realised it was quite a bit more serious. 

My risk was so high (up to 87% chance of getting ovarian or breast cancer), that after speaking to the genetics team that I decided to undergo preventative surgery, including a partial hysterectomy, which put me into menopause. 

I also had a double mastectomy, just as Chas is planning to do, that I followed with immediate …