Emmerdale spoilers: Aaron Dingle makes a brave decision about his health amid cancer fight

Chas Dingle (Lucy Pargeter) gets some news that proves life-changing to many people in upcoming Emmerdale episodes, when she discovers that the cause of her cancer is the faulty BRCA2 gene.

This means that there’s a high chance that her brothers Cain (Jeff Hordley) and Caleb (William Ash) could have the gene too, as could her son Aaron (Danny Miller), as well as any children they might have.

This family connection was an important part of the idea for this story, as producer Kate Brooks explained.

‘With Chas’s family history of breast cancer and Chas being such a strong character, and in many ways the bedrock of the Dingles, we wanted to show the impact on not just her, but her immediate family,’ she said.

The men are faced with the choice of whether to be tested to find out definitively whether they have the faulty gene.

Chas is worried sick when Aaron seems to want to avoid talking about the subject and she’s worried that he won’t go for the test. For his part, Aaron struggles with Chas’s insistence that he gets tested.

Later, Chas is upset to hear from Vinny (Bradley Johnson) that Aaron has stated he has no plans to take the test.

She’s worried that Aaron could be risking his life because of his fear of confronting the possibility that he might have the gene.

Meanwhile Chas still has her own illness to deal with and she has an appointment to discuss her treatment options.

Waiting nervously to be called, Chas is hugely relieved when Aaron joins her, having been told by Lydia (Karen Blick) that Chas has gone for her appointment.

With Aaron supporting her, Chas tells the doctor that she’s decided to have a double mastectomy. She admits that she’s absolutely terrified, and breaks down in tears.

Perhaps taking his cue from his mum’s bravery, Aaron takes the difficult step of requesting a referral for the gene test as he prepares to face up to whatever the result may be.