Working to raise awareness of hereditary breast cancer

Louise Hutton, now 29, had the operation in February 2014 aged just 26. Like Hollywood star Angelina Jolie, she had both healthy breasts removed and reconstructed because of the severe risk she had of developing hereditary breast cancer.

Louise said: “Growing up I had always known that my grandmother had died from ovarian cancer aged 44, when my mother was just nine years old. Knowing that she had a strong family history, my mother was referred to a genetics clinic in 2004. However, they were unable to arrange a genetic mutation test at the time because she had no live affected relatives.

“Four years later, in 2008, my mother was diagnosed with grade 3 invasive ductal breast cancer. Following this cancer diagnosis she was then able to have genetic testing which proved that she had a faulty BRCA1 gene.