Breast cancer has been a constant in Emily Hardaker's life since she was 14, when the disease took her mother's life.

In 2017, when Hardaker was 25, she tested positive for a BRCA2 gene mutation, which meant she was at a significantly higher risk of developing the condition herself.

The 34-year-old from Brislington, in Bristol, decided to get a preventative double mastectomy two years ago to reduce the risk.

"Seeing as that my mum had passed away, and my family were, I use the term 'riddled with it', which I know is not funny, it was a no-brainer for me," she said.

According to Cancer Research, experts think that about seven in every 10 women with a change in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene will develop breast cancer by the age of 80.

Both act as tumour suppressors by fixing broken DNA. When these genes have harmful changes or mutations, the risk for breast, ovarian, and other cancers goes up.

Hardaker's mother was diagnosed with breast cancer at 40; she died eight years later.

"Most of my childhood, I saw my mother quite unwell, quite frail, which definitely feeds into why I've taken the course of action that I have," Hardacker said.

"She was always ill during childhood, and wasn't the kind of woman who would play or do anything active.

"I do have happy memories of her, but we would often have to help with things like shopping, for example."

When Hardaker's sister was diagnosed with a faulty BRCA2 gene in 2016, it spurred her on to take the test herself.

"You think you're going to be ready for something like that, but actually, I don't think I really processed it for a good several years," she said.

"It is a hard thing to carry. It's heavy, and then it is also long, so it's not something you can do about it immediately."

After deciding she wanted the surgery, the time taken to process the decision and delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic meant a wait of seven years to have the operation.

"When I had carried a large burden for so long, I had loads of relief afterwards," she said. "I felt like I didn't have to worry about anything anymore."

She said the recovery process was "really hard", she was unable to sleep flat for a month, and she had had to recognise that she had been through an amputation.

Hardaker also chose to have breast reconstruction surgery at the same time.

"For me, losing my breasts was an emotional thing; it felt like I was losing my womanhood," she said.

"It's not for everyone, but I wanted to try and carry on and look in the mirror as if nothing had happened.

"This has been a really positive surgery, and my risk of cancer is now 8%, whereas it was 80-90% before.

"I want to look at it as a good thing, and it has given me hope for the future."

Three weeks after her mastectomy, she returned to work as a personal trainer at Sweatbox gym in Bedminster.

She now helps other women with a support network called the Women's Empowerment Movement, which encourages fitness and healthy living.

"I've helped women go from never lifting a single thing to having personal bests, and people having major car accidents to now using full function again, to massive weight loss," she said.

"The whole focus is about getting people to move in a positive way and not just to become small."

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