Presenter Julia Bradbury has revealed the devastating news she has been diagnosed with breast cancer and is set to have her left breast removed.
The 51-year-old broadcaster said she would have a mastectomy next month in order to remove a six centimetre tumour.
Surgeons will also take tissue from the mum of three's lymph nodes to establish whether the disease has spread to other parts of her body.
She told her children Zeph, ten, and twins Zena and Xanthe, six, about the heartbreaking diagnosis last week.
It came following a mammogram she booked in July on an annual recall, having last year found a lump which proved to be a cluster of benign micro-cysts.
While the tumour was described as "sizeable", doctors believe the cancer cells have not yet spread to the breast tissue, meaning she may not need chemotherapy.
She told the Mail on Sunday the disease was 'arbitrary and unfair' but she hoped to have caught hers early enough.
Ms Bradbury said she was sticking to the positives: "It is quite good on the scale on cancers. But as with all tumours, until you are in there you never know.
"As it is I am going to lose my breast. I trust that one day I will look down on it and think that was the fight of my life and I have the ultimate battle scar to prove it."
The Countryfile presenter urged other women to regularly check themselves for breast cancer and not to be afraid to seek help.
"We must, must, must check ourselves and seek help," she said. "Being scared of a diagnosis could be the thing which kills you. So learn what to look for and check, check, check.
"Doctors are experts but only you can press a lump, know how it feels and think you should do something about it."
Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in the UK, the NHS website states.
Most women diagnosed with breast cancer are over the age of 50, but younger women can also get the deadly disease.
About 1 in 8 women are diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime. but there's a good chance of recovery if it's detected at an early stage.
You should also see a GP if you notice any of these symptoms:
- a change in the size or shape of one or both breasts
- discharge from either of your nipples, which may be streaked with blood
- a lump or swelling in either of your armpits
- dimpling on the skin of your breasts
- a rash on or around your nipple
- a change in the appearance of your nipple, such as becoming sunken into your breast
For more information visit the NHS website here.