Emmerdale's Lisa Riley has shared the tear-jerking reason she refuses to be tested for cancer. The much-loved actress, 47, plays soap legend Mandy Dingle, who recently got tested to see if she was genetically predisposed to the disease. However, Lisa says she won't be doing the same, despite her mum, Cath, sadly dying of breast
cancer 12 year ago. Two of Lisa'a great-grandmothers also had breast cancer, and she lost three grandparents to other cancers. Telling the Mirror she doesn't want the BRCA1 and BRCA2 tests, despite her family history, Lisa said: "It's my life and I don't want to have that test done. We've had years of conversation about it at Emmerdale , long before this storyline, and people have asked me: 'But Lisa, with your history and your gene pool, why would you not do it?' I reply: 'Because I don't need to do it.' I just want to be me and live my life from day to day. I could get hit by a lorry tomorrow.' I don’t want to be that person that lives with that for the rest of my life. I know people will judge me on that, but you’ve got to walk a day in my shoes." Sarah Beeny's tear-jerking message to
Kate Middleton after shock cancer diagnosis Mandy Dingle, played by Lisa Riley, got tested for cancer on Emmerdale Lisa does have an annual mammogram to see if there are any cells or growths she should be worried about, but says she doesn't want know if she has the BRCA1 or 2 gene. Famously highlighted by
Hollywood Actress Angelina Jolie , BRCA1 and BRCA2 are faulty genes that significantly raise the risk of a woman developing breast and ovarian cancer and a man developing male breast cancer and prostate or pancreatic cancer. Most
Women in the
UK have a 15% chance of developing breast cancer in their lifetime, that rises to 40-85% for women with the faulty BRCA2 gene and 65-85% for women with the faulty BRCA1 gene. There’s also a 50% of passing the gene to their children. Despite choosing not to have the BRCA1 or 2 test, Lisa, who is ambassador for the charity Breast Cancer Now, has commended Emmerdale script writers for spreading awareness about 'faulty genes'. She said: “I love the fact that we are portraying this on telly as many people still might not be aware of the faulty gene. It’s wonderful to know that we will be teaching the audience about it, but personally, I don’t want to know.” She continued: “I’m not a statistic. People might think: ‘Well, on paper, Lisa is going to have breast cancer by the time she’s 56.’ Possibly that might be the case, but I don’t want to be told that. I want to live my life to the fullest." Her character, Mandy, has been going through a tough time on Emmerdale ever since close relative, Chas Dingle, was diagnosed with breast cancer and got a double mastectomy. Caleb and Cain Dingle took a BRCA2 test and received the all-clear. Unfortunately, this was not the case for Chas' son Aaron Dingle, played by Danny Miller. So far he has kept quiet about the discovery that he is a carrier of the gene. * If you have been affected by this story, advice and support can be found at Breast Cancer Support. New Hyundai Kona review: A stylish solution for practical family transport Follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat ,
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