A BRAVE mother-of-two who will have her breasts and ovaries removed next year has started a fundraising campaign to raise �1,000 for Breakthrough Breast Cancer.

Heidi Kilgariff, 35, has opted to undergo the first of two life-changing but risk-reducing operations in January, after discovering she is a carrier of the BRCA 1 gene - which gives her an 85% chance of getting breast cancer and a 60% chance of contracting ovarian cancer.

Having raised just over �80 so far, she said: "I really want to make some headway in raising the money next year, so it's going to be a case of doing what I can inbetween operations.

"I don't know how much I'm going to be able to do, but any time I feel 100% and can do stuff, I'll do it."

The Crown Wood resident found out about the genetic mutation 20 months ago and is not only worried about her future but also that of her daughter Mya, two, and son Hayden, nine months - who both have a 50% chance of inheriting the defect.

"I want to stop future generations having to make the decisions I've had to make," she explained.

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