Breast check

BREAST cancer is the second most common cancer in Ireland (melanoma is the most common) with 3,000 people developing the disease each year.

The average woman has a one-in-three chance of developing cancer, due to advanced age or poor lifestyle, but anyone who has an inherited cancer gene (such as the BRCA2 gene, which affected Liberty X singer, Michelle Heaton) has a much greater risk and will often opt for preventative surgery.

While effective, a mastectomy can be traumatic — but a new treatment might cut the risk of developing cancer by up to 70%.