“It’s had a big emotional impact.”
Michelle Heaton has spoken out about her experience of going through menopause at just 35.
The singer underwent a double mastectomy and hysterectomy after finding out that she was a carrier for the BRCA2 gene.
The mutation meant she had an 85 per cent risk of developing breast cancer and a 30 per cent risk of getting ovarian cancer.
The hysterectomy caused her body to enter menopause early, something Michelle has struggled with.
She told the Daily Mail that she has suffered depression as a side-effect.
“I feel so tired and lethargic and I can’t seem to snap myself out of it,” she said.
“You don’t fully realise how depressed you are at the time until you’ve been able to pick yourself up eventually and you look back at it.
“I’m lucky that I haven’t suffered the physical symptoms so many women going through the menopause get – such as hot flushes and night sweats.
“For me it’s had a big emotional impact.”
Michelle found out that she was at risk of cancer after having her daughter Faith in 2012 and had a double mastectomy that year.
She and husband Hugh Hanley welcome their second child, son Aaron, in 2014 and Michelle underwent her hysterectomy in 2015.
She said she had no regrets about the surgery.
“It was all worth it to beat cancer.”
