Sharon Osbourne has revealed that she had a preventative double mastectomy to safeguard her health.

The former ‘America’s Got Talent‘ judge made the decision to go under the knife after she found out she carries a gene which increases the risk for breast cancer.

Sharon said:

“I didn’t want to live the rest of my life with that shadow hanging over me… the odds are not in my favor. It’s not ‘pity me,’ it’s a decision I made that’s got rid of this weight that I was carrying around.”

Osbourne who battled colon cancer 10 years ago explained, “I’ve had cancer before, and I didn’t want to live under that cloud.” Osbourne, 60, told Hello! magazine: “I decided to just take everything off, and had a double mastectomy.”