Coronation Street's Bernie Winter-Alahan (Jane Hazlegrove) has decided to undergo a full mastectomy and hysterectomy after learning she carries the harmful BRCA gene-mutation.
Earlier this year, the death of a family member led Bernie to discover that her family carries the gene-mutation, which increases the chance of developing certain types of cancer. While Bernie and Gemma Winter-Brown (Dolly-Rose Campbell) set about getting tested, they were unaware that Bernie's son Kit Green (Jacob Roberts) had taken a test by himself. He was later told that he has breast cancer and is now receiving chemotherapy.
Bernie's Decision After Learning She Has the Gene
Gemma recently learnt that she does not have the harmful gene, but Bernie now knows that she does. The character spent time thinking about whether she wanted to have a mastectomy and hysterectomy to reduce her risk of cancer.
During an evening with Debbie Webster (Sue Devaney) and their friends, Bernie shared that she was worried the operations would impact her femininity. She then revealed that she has realised that if she has the surgery, she will still be herself afterwards.
Sharing the News with Family
With her mind made up, Bernie tells Gemma, Kit and Brody Michaelis (Ryan Mulvey) in upcoming episodes that she has decided to opt for a full mastectomy and hysterectomy.
Star Jane Hazlegrove previously said: "She has some massive decisions to make." She added: "For a woman pushing 60, deciding to lose her breasts is huge, especially because she and Dev are such a physical couple."
A Determined Outlook
Hazlegrove continued: "But she has about a 70% chance of developing breast cancer, and she wants to be around for her grandkids and the quads. She's determined to stick around."
"She's not sure what the psychological effects of the surgery will be, but she has to make a decision and she says 'I'm still going to be me.' It's going to be a long road, but she's not going anywhere."
