text: Emma Hannigan had her breasts and ovaries removed in 2006 to reduce her risk of cancer after she was diagnosed with the faulty BrCa1 gene . A mother-of-two has battled cancer nine times in the last seven years, despite having her breasts and ovaries removed to try and prevent the disease. Emma Hannigan was told in 2005 that she carried the faulty BRCA1 gene, which increases a woman's chance of getting breast cancer by 85 per cent, and ovarian cancer by 50 per cent. She opted to have a double mastectomy and oophorectomy the following year, to reduce her risk. But despite the drastic surgery, the 42-year-old received the diagnosis she had been dreading - she had breast cancer. Since that point, Mrs Hannigan has battled the disease a staggering nine times, including four bouts in the space of a year. She is now undergoing chemotherapy every three weeks as specialists try to keep the disease at bay. Mrs Hannigan, an author from Bray, near Dublin, said despite it failing to prevent cancer, she does not regret having preventative surgery. The Breast Cancer Campaign estimates preventative mastectomy is thought to reduce breast cancer risk in carriers of the BRCA gene, by 90 per cent. The odds reduce a woman's risk to lower than that of the average for women who do not carry the mutated gene. 'I didn't look at it like I was losing my ovaries or breasts,' Mrs Hannigan said. 'I looked at it like I was gaining my life. 'It wasn't a difficult decision. It was a no-brainer - I wanted to live.' But at the age of 33, Mrs Hannigan was devastated when she was told, just a year after having surgery, that she had cancer. 'I was tested because there was a family history of breast and ovarian cancer in my family,' she said. 'My aunt Helen died of breast cancer when she was 42. My other aunts, Ruth and Cathy, survived breast cancer in their 30s and 40s. My great aunt, Anneliese, died from ovarian cancer. 'When gene testing came in my family were invited to have tests. My mother, Cathy and Ruth were all diagnosed with the faulty gene. 'So I was tested and I was diagnosed too. Then I made the decision to reduce my risk of cancer and have surgery. 'It was not difficult. I had seen Helen die. 'I had two young children. I only had to look at them and know that I had made the right choice.' Following the mastectomy, her breast tissue was sent away for testing. The results showed early signs of cancer. But in 2007, the mother-of-two, from Bray near Dublin, was diagnosed with breast cancer. She underwent treatment, including radiation, pictured, and within a few months doctors told her she was in remission . Since 2007, Mrs Hannigan, an author, has battled the disease nine times, including facing four bouts in one year. She is currently undergoing chemotherapy as specialists try to keep the disease at bay . But doctors said they were pre-cancerous cells, and she was clear of the disease at the time. In June 2007, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. 'In January 2007 I had muscle pains and a rash,' the former beautician said. 'My arms and legs started seizing and my face, head, arms and upper torso became covered in a burning itchy rash. Women with a significant family history of breast cancer may have an increased risk of getting the disease. A significant family history is defined by: . Women who inherit the faulty, or mutated, BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes have a 50 to 80 per cent chance of developing breast cancer during their lifetime. Genetic tests are available to women who are likely to have a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation, or faults in two other genes called TP53 and PTEN. BRCA gene faults are more common in the Ashkenazi Jewish population, about 2.3 per cent of Ashkenazi Jewish women have a BRCA gene mutation. Source: Breast Cancer Campaign . 'Between February and April I was in and out of hospital. 'In June I was diagnosed with cancer for the first time and also dermatomyositis, an autoimmune disease. 'I had IV chemotherapy used to treat both conditions, along with steroids to stop the dermatomyositis.' After a few months of treatment, doctors told the mother-of-two she was in remission. 'I thought it was over,' she said. 'I thought I had done my time and that was it. 'But cancer doesn't have a social conscious. It came back.' The disease returned again in March 2008 and October 2009. Both times she was treated with chemotherapy and went into remission with scans and blood tests coming back clear. Then in 2010, Mrs Hannigan was diagnosed with cancer four times and was treated with a mixture of chemotherapy and radiation. Each time she went into remission. But the cancer returned in 2011 and she received six months of chemotherapy. Again she went into remission. But again, it returned in 2013. 'This was the worst,' she said. 'I got a tumour in my skull and needed 50 bouts of radiation. 'I couldn't move my head. It was awful.' Mrs Hannigan said she wrote to see her through it the long hours of radiation. She has had a successful career as an author writing such books as Driving Home for Christmas and The Secrets We Share. 'Currently the cancer is gone – but I'm having chemo every three weeks as a precaution,' she said. 'Cancer doesn't get any less scary. 'The words, "it is breast cancer" are never easy to hear. 'All the cancer is classed as breast cancer as this was the primary source – the place where it first started. 'Each time I was diagnosed it was in my lymph nodes in the area around my neck, shoulder, underarm and or the back of my head. Mrs Hannigan said: 'Cancer doesn't get any less scary. 'The words, "it is breast cancer" are never easy to hear.' She said she is no better than anyone else at beating cancer, rather treatments have improved . 'Each time I found the cancer myself in the form of lumps just under the skin. I go to the doctor and am treated. 'Then I have scans and blood tests and it is clear. I am in remission. 'My husband, Cian, 41, and I crack open the champagne. 'But the cancer comes back.' She said she was no better at beating cancer than other people, rather treatments have improved. 'And I should know,' she laughed. 'Sometimes I wonder, "why I have had it nine times when some people get it once?" 'There's no reason.' Her son, Sacha, 15, and daughter, Kim, 13, will be offered the opportunity for testing when they are 18. 'But it's their choice,' she said. 'Whatever happens I will be there for them.' Mrs Hannigan has teamed up TanOrganic, the world's first eco-certified self-tanning brand, to raise money for cancer research. From every bottle sold in Waitrose, TanOrganic will donate 35p to cancer research charities.
target: Emma Hannigan was diagnosed with the faulty BRCA1 gene in 2005 .
  A year later she had her breasts and ovaries removed to prevent cancer .
  But in 2007, despite the surgery, she was diagnosed with breast cancer .
  Since then she has battled the disease nine times - four times in one year .