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‘I’m over the moon’: Michelle Heaton praises fellow double mastectomy patient Angelina Jolie for going public about surgery

Published: 12:56 EST, 14 May 2013 | Updated: 17:42 EST, 14 May 2013

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She underwent a double mastectomy herself back in November to prevent developing breast cancer later in life.

And now Michelle Heaton has praised Hollywood actress Angeline Jolie, who carries the same faulty gene as she does, for going public with her brave decision as she believes if more women know about the gene and the option of surgery then more lives will be saved.

Speaking on ITV Daybreak on Tuesday morning, as the news of Angelina broke, she said: ‘I’m over the moon actually that she’s decided to come out and tell everybody what she’s gone through.’

Pleased: Michelle Heaton (L) has revealed she is delighted Angelina Jolie (R) has gone public with her decision

The Liberty X singer continued to Aled Jones and Lorraine Kelly: ‘I think over the last six months with myself, then Sharon Osbourne and now Angelina (coming forward) - it can only be a positive thing that the BRCA gene is being raised in the media.

‘Before I was diagnosed with the BRCA gene I hadn’t even heard of it. And now it’s so prevalent. It’s allowing women to be educated on the BRCA gene and those women who may not even have wanted or needed to get tested are stepping forward and it’s going to save lives.’

Michelle also said that sharing her experience of the surgery had already encouraged more women to be tested for the gene. She said: ‘The amount of women who literally come up to me on the street and say I just wanted to say thank you for highlighting what you went through I decided to get tested and unfortunately I also have the gene.

Faulty gene: The news was made all the more personal by the fact that Angelina lost her mother Marcheline Bertrand to ovarian cancer when she was just 56

‘I’m over the mastectomy and reconstruction now and these women who are going to get tested because they’ve read it in an article are saving their own lives and that can only be a positive thing.’

Speaking on the Lorraine show, Michelle added: ‘A couple of years ago having a double mastectomy was a very controversial choice and it needn’t have been. Myself, Angelina and Sharon Osbourne have come out recently and said that we carry the BRCA gene and it gives us such a high chance of breast cancer.

‘And it’s actually quite prominent in younger women as well so I think Angelina has made a choice - actually later in life than most women do, to have this surgery but for us to come forward and speak about it can only be a positive thing. The more people that know and are educated about what’s going on, about the gene, it can only possibly save lives in the future.’

Courage: Michelle, pictured here with husband Hugh, spoke about her decision before having the operation

Support: Angelina said it was the support of her six children and fiancé Brad which got her through the three months of secret procedures

She said her decision to have the pre-emptive surgery had been a ‘no-brainer’.

The star who is currently taking part in the Big Reunion tour shared: ‘In comparison to having a possibility of ever contracting breast cancer to the two, three months of surgery and recovery, in hindsight it is nothing.

‘It is nothing in comparison, so for me it was an absolute no-brainer to go ahead with surgery. I’ve recovered well, I’m fit and healthy. It’s about getting rid of that worry and about getting rid of the worry for your family and that’s what I’ve done.’

Tour: Michelle went back to work quickly following her operation and is currently taking part in the Big Reunion tour

Angelina revealed her decision to have the surgery in the New York Times and said it was the support of her six children and fiancé Brad which got her through the three months of secret procedures.

The news was made all the more personal by the fact that Angelina lost her mother Marcheline Bertrand to ovarian cancer when she was just 56

In the editorial piece in the New York Times entitled 'My Medical Choice', Angelina wrote: ''I am fortunate to have a partner, Brad Pitt, who is so loving and supportive. So to anyone who has a wife or girlfriend going through this, know that you are a very important part of the transition. Brad was at the Pink Lotus Breast Center, where I was treated, for every minute of the surgeries.

'We managed to find moments to laugh together. We knew this was the right thing to do for our family and that it would bring us closer. And it has.'