I’m getting life-saving gene test after mum’s breast cancer scare – it was huge wake up call for me, says Gemma Collins
GEMMA Collins has revealed she is getting a life-saving gene test — after her mum was diagnosed with breast cancer.
The reality star, 42, has disclosed for the first time that her mum Joan, 67, found a cancerous lump between her breast and armpit — and said it gave her a wake-up call.
Gemma, who also lost a female family member to the disease, said she has spoken to her doctor about a BRCA gene test — which screens DNA to assess the risk — in the hope of getting peace of mind.
Gemma — who is taking part in The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up to Cancer tonight — broke down in tears as she recalled the moment her mum said doctors had found a lump.
She said: “It was over the phone. I was in the back of a taxi in London and I was like, ‘Are you all right, mum? Where are you?’ — as we say every day, ten times a day.
“She said, ‘Ah I didn’t want to tell you, but I’ve had a lump in my breast. I was like, ‘What?’, and she said, ‘But it’s fine I’ve got the all-clear’. I was like, ‘Oh, my God. Why didn’t you tell me?”
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Gemma continued: “It’s something that I’ve never spoken about. I was filming Diva Forever at the time so she never said a thing about the diagnosis, which must have been scary for her.
“She found the lump on the side of her right breast but she only told me when it was all over.
“Thank God she got it checked and thank God they caught it in the nick of time.
“She knew that I would have fallen apart in the worst-case scenario so she kept it to herself because she didn’t want to upset me — but she was very scared.”
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Gemma added: “She basically caught it and they removed it straight away. They were fantastic — again big up the NHS.
“It’s a different story now and she got the all-clear.”
Joan, who attends a screening every year, was diagnosed in 2016 with ductal carcinoma in situ, in which the cells in the lining of the breast tissue become cancerous.
However, the cancerous cells are contained inside the milk ducts and have not yet spread into the surrounding breast tissue.
The most common cause of hereditary breast cancer is an inherited mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene. If a woman has inherited a mutated copy of either gene from a parent, they have a higher risk of breast cancer.
On average, a woman with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation has up to a 70 per cent chance of getting breast cancer by age 80.
Gemma, who rose to fame on The Only Way is Essex, said: “I would love to go for the BRCA test — peace of mind is key.
“My mum is now a breast cancer survivor and let this be a message to everyone out there — no one is invincible from it.
“Your health is your wealth and with any lump you’re never going to be wasting the doctor’s time.
“These services are in place and we pay into these services — they are there to help us.”
Meanwhile Gemma, who will be baking alongside comedian Jessica Hynes, presenter AJ Odudu and poet Tim Key for judges Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith, said she hoped her appearance in the famous tent would encourage women to check their breasts.
She said: “This is why I’ve done Bake Off because I’ve never spoken about my mum’s diagnosis and when I was approached I thought this is the right time.”
And Gemma said daily checks are now part of her routine as she urges women to seek advice from their GP if they have any worries.
She said: “It has to be a message to everybody to get themselves checked. Every time I have a pain I am straight down the doctors getting myself checked. It’s a huge wake up call to everybody.
“I must drive them mad at the doctors but I pay into the NHS services like everyone else.”
She continued: “I’m always touching my boobs because they are always in the bloody way!
“I’m forever pushing my boobs back in my bra and literally every girl knows there is nothing better than coming home and whipping your bra off.
“But, naturally, even while I’m talking on the phone, I’m going around the outside and checking. I do it everyday. It’s just like taking an antihistamine in the summer for hay fever — it’s just something you have got to be on.”
Meanwhile, Gemma said she has also ditched meat — after a study found the risk of developing cancer was 14 per cent lower in vegetarians.
She said: “I think when you reach your 40s you get even more conscious about your health because, let’s be honest, this is where it all starts going downhill.”
Research by Oxford University last week also found taking the Pill or other form of hormonal contraception increases the risk of breast cancer by 25 per cent.
Gemma, who has previously spoken of her wish to have a baby, said: “It’s very, very worrying.
"I haven’t been on contraception for ten years. I don’t put anything in my body and I think if I’m meant to have a baby, it will happen.”
And Gemma, a doting aunt to her brother’s two boys, said mum Joan had been her rock through her 12 years in the spotlight.
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She added: “You only get one mum — and if you’ve got a nice one, you need to cherish her.”
- The Great Celebrity Bake Off: Stand Up To Cancer continues on Sundays at 7:40pm on Channel 4. To give £40, £30, £20 or £10 text FORTY, THIRTY, TWENTY or TEN to 70404.
- To find out more about Stand Up To Cancer and how you can support, visit
PHONE IN BRA FALSE ALARM
GEMMA has an unlikely tip to cut the risk of breast cancer: Stop stuffing your phone in your bra.
She said: “So many people tuck their phones in their bras. I swear it’s radiation. Keep your phone away from your boobs — you don’t need it.”
However, experts say losing weight and cutting down on alcohol is more effective.
Breast surgeon and author Dr Liz O’Riordan said: “There is no scientific evidence carrying your phone in your bra causes cancer.”