Coleen Nolan is struggling with a difficult decision as she debates whether or not to have a double mastectomy.
The Loose Women star, 55, is considering having her breasts removed after watching her sisters Anne and Linda battle cancer at the same time.
In a candid interview, Coleen admitted she felt like her breasts had become "time bombs" as she discussed how likely it is that she could one day be handed the same diagnosis her siblings have had.
But Coleen said she also fears that something could go wrong during the elective surgery and she could end up dying on the operating table.
She told OK! magazine : "When I first heard about Linda and Anne back in April, my knee-jerk reaction was, get these breasts off me! It’s like having two time bombs sitting there. Since then I’ve calmed down, but I still lie awake at night worrying.
"I’m in limbo and really struggling to decide. It’s horrendous enough when you’ve got no choice in the matter, but when it’s a voluntary decision to lose your breasts it’s so difficult."
Anne, 69, was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer earlier this year, while Linda, 61, found out she has incurable liver cancer just a few days later.
The sisters lost their sibling Bernie to the disease seven years ago. She was just 52.
Coleen said her odds of developing breast cancer are "high", saying it doesn't "look good" that she will escape the diagnosis.
But she said the risk of dying during the operation is putting her off going ahead with it.
She added: "My breasts are absolutely not worth dying for so I’ve no problem with getting rid of them. It’s the operation, the long recovery and the potential pain that I’m scared of. What if I die during the anaesthetic? What if I have my boobs removed and then I get cancer in another part of my body?"
Coleen said it's her children Shane Jr, 31, Jake, 28, and Ciara, 19, who she is thinking of, because they aren't ready to "lose" her.
She said she's not giving herself a deadline to make a decision about the operation and is fully considering all of her options and doing as much research into it as she can.
Coleen recently opened up to the Mirror about the guilt she felt watching her siblings battle the disease.
She said: "The guilt is incredible, I don’t feel guilty for not having the disease; I feel guilty for being afraid of it when I think of Anne and Linda living with it. But of course it’s hard not to be consumed by fear when those so close to you have been affected."
