Triple-negative breast cancer explained as Emmerdale's Chas Dingle gets diagnosis

Emmerdale fans were left in tears this week, when fan favourite Chastity Dingle was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer, just one year on since the death of her mother Faith to the gruelling disease.The ailing mum of two - played by Lucy Pargenter - first discovered a lump just over a week ago, when she and her lover Dr Liam Cavanagh were caught up in a steamy romp when he detected the abnormality and urged her to get it checked out.

Initially fearing that it would mean a death sentence, just like it was in her mum’s case, Chas tried to avoid going to see someone about the lump, but after a little soul searching plucked up the courage to speak to Dr Manpreet Sharma who arranged for an urgent mammogram and appointment at the breast clinic, which also took a biopsy.

On Monday night, sadly Chas’ worst fears were confirmed when she was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer, but what exactly does this mean and what kind of prognosis does Chas have for the future?

Here’s everything you need to know about triple-negative breast cancer… What is triple-negative breast cancer? Triple-negative breast cancer is a specific kind of cancer that doesn’t have hormone receptors for oestrogen and progesterone (the hormones that control fertility and periods in women), or a protein called Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 (HER2).