A MOTHER and daughter facing a cancer time bomb have spoken about their brave decision to have drastic, preventative surgery.

Cath Gilroy and Clare Shaw have a gene which means they have up to an 85 per cent chance of developing cancer.

Together they still face an agonising wait for the potentially life-saving surgery — a delay high profile BRCA gene sufferers such as actress Angelina Jolie and popstar Michelle Heaton do not share.

Mrs Gilroy said: "It's good that celebrities like Angelina and Michelle have come out and said they have the BRCA gene.

"It's amazing they've raised the awareness.

"But what people don't realise is how difficult it is to get the test in first place and how long you have to wait for the preventative surgery."

The 56-year-old discovered she had the BRCA2 gene after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011.

She urged her daughter Clare and sister Elaine Price to have the test which revealed they too had the faulty gene.

Mrs Gilroy had a double mastectomy when she was first diagnosed with cancer and is waiting for the second phase of reconstructive surgery.

She is still yet to have her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed.

In addition, Mrs Gilroy has had to fight the cancer with rigorous rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

"We've been living in this cancer hell for three years now," she said.

"Everything is on hold until we've had the surgery. I want my life back.

"I don't what I'd do without my daughter Clare. She has been my rock throughout.

"I feel guilty because I've passed this gene onto her and now she's having to go through all this surgery too.

"I don't think people realised the effect it has on your life."

Ms Shaw, aged 37, had her ovaries and fallopian tubes almost as soon she tested positive for BRCA 2 �— a decision she described as a "no brainer".

The mum-of-one was told by doctors she would have to lose at least two stone before they could carry out a double mastectomy.

Ms Shaw, of Montrose Avenue in Tonge Moor, said: "It has been horrendous for our family. I think only women in our situation can understand how hard it has been.

"I never expected to go on for as long as it has. The surgery threw my body into an early menopause which at my age isn't ideal.

"I don't want any more children but I am single and thinking about meeting someone. The next stage of surgery will dramatically change my body and it does make you worry about people will think.

"But I would have always had made the same decision. Seeing what my mum has gone through with cancer, it was a no brainer.

"If there is a positive to come out of it, it has bought us closer together."