Love Island's Sharon Gaffka has revealed she had a breast cancer scare while her mother Linda was battling the disease.
The reality TV star, 26, reflected on how she found a "really painful" lump near her underarm and quickly went to the GP having watched her mother battle cancer.
Sharon revealed how she discovered the lump just as her mum was finishing treatment and felt worried about what it could be.
Sharon told The Sun : "I remember feeling discomfort in my right breast between my breast and my underarm. I didn't know that that was a potential spot.
"I basically had a solid lump of tissue, and it was really painful, even just to move around in general life. I was very lucky to find that it was just it was basically like scar tissue, I've injured myself and my body was trying to fix it."
The former islander said people assume breast cancer is "literally in the tissue," as opposed to the cancer growing in the collarbone or underarm.
Do you enjoy reading about celebrities? Sign up for all the best celeb news from the Mirror here .
Sharon said her family history, as well as her mother battling cancer, had prompted her to seek medical advice.
The Love Islander now feels it's important to raise awareness because others may not know what to look for and what is "abnormal" - following her own experience with such concerns.
The reality TV star added: "Had it been something more sinister than it ended up being, I could have been in a lot of trouble because I couldn't spot the signs early."
Sharon acknowledged while some people "find it weird" checking their chests, she hopes by sharing her story she can take away the stigma around doing so.
It comes after the television personality shared her horror story last week of being spiked during a daytime lunch with her friends.
The reality TV star ended up in hospital after she fell unconscious in the restaurant bathrooms after her drink was spiked.
Sharon was left completely shaken by the ordeal and has finally decided to share her story in a bid to raise awareness and to share solidarity with other women who have gone through the harrowing experience.
“The last thing I remember was having a drink in my hand, and after that I have no memory whatsoever," she told The Sun.
"I went to the bathroom but didn’t come back so two of my friends went to find me. The cubicle was locked, they couldn’t get a response and that’s when they started to panic."
Lifting the lid on her terrifying experience, Sharon explained that she held back on telling people for a long time because she felt 'ashamed' it had happened to her.
The former Love Island star has now set her sights on campaigning to change the law against spiking.
Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at webcelebs@mirror.co.uk or call us direct 0207 29 33033.
