A MOTHER has spoken of her brave decision to have both breasts removed at the age of 31 to beat a 90 per cent chance of getting cancer.
Berni Dorrington says she does not want her two children to go through the anguish she suffered as a child, watching her mother battle the disease
The carer had the surgery, including breast reconstruction, three weeks ago, after learning she had a mutated gene which increased her risk of breast and ovarian cancer. She plans to have her womb removed in a few years.
Soon-to-be-married Berni, from New Addington, said: "Cancer is not prejudiced against colour, race, or religion and if I can prevent myself from getting at least two forms of cancer, I am at least making some form of decision for myself."
Berni was seven when her mother, Michelle Dorrington, first developed breast cancer, aged 29. Fourteen years later it returned for the second time, but is now in remission.
Three years ago, Berni's mother discovered she carried the harmful mutation of the Braca-1 gene, prompting Berni to find out if she had inherited the problem.
She said: "I was always aware that the older I got, the more at risk I was. I had spoken to a couple of close friends about it and they all said the same thing: 'Wouldn't you rather not know?' But I am a really headstrong person, so I wanted to know."
Berni took the test in March, at St George's Hospital, Tooting.
She discovered that her individual circumstances made it around 90 per cent likely she would suffer from cancer at some stage.
Berni said: "I had spoken to my mother and spoken to Paul [her fiancé] and said that if I do have the mutation, my decision was that I do want a double mastectomy.
"No ifs and buts about it: the decision is done and that is what is happening to me."
She added: "They phoned me two weeks later to tell me that my results had come back positive.
"From there it was a lot of phonecalls to sort out the arrangements and to set me up with some counselling services to talk through my feelings.
"But my mind was set in what I wanted and they were really good about it."
Berni went in for her operation three weeks ago and spent seven-and-a-half hours in surgery, including breast reconstruction.
Her fiance, Paul Bridgeland, and their children - Lily-Ella, 5, and Freddie, 3 - visited regularly in the five-day hospital stay that followed.
Now recovering at home, she says she hopes testing for the gene mutation will become more widely available on the NHS.
It is currently available to those with a strong family history of breast or similar cancers.
