'My double mastectomy was a thunderbolt moment for me'

After having both breasts removed at 24, Eleanor Howie struggled with body confidence - until her experience inspired a business idea

- OLIVIA DEVEREUX-EVANS 

When Eleanor Howie, 36, from Norfolk, discovered she had the BRCA1 gene mutation, she decided to take drastic steps to reduce her risk of cancer. Here, she talks candidly about the reality of having a double mastectomy aged just 24… 

When I first decided that I was going to go through with the surgery, I cried for hours. I felt crushed because I was still so young. I’d had genetic testing at 19 in 2006, which revealed I was at an increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer due to having a BRCA1 gene mutation.

In my own family, both my mum and aunt had cancer. Sadly, my aunt died from breast cancer when she was in her thirties. Because of my family history, I knew I needed the double mastectomy for my own peace of mind. I felt so fortunate that there was something I could do to lower my chances of getting ill, and that I was to be given a breast reconstruction with implants.

On the morning of my surgery in 2011, I had an out-of-body experience as I walked towards the theatre. I was really terrified and questioning everything, realising that I was having the operation even though I was completely healthy.

It was truly a huge thunderbolt moment for me that impacted me both physically and mentally.