EastEnders actress Kara Tointon has revealed she underwent a double mastectomy and had her fallopian tubes removed as preventative surgery after discovering she carries the BRCA1 gene.
The 41-year-old made the decision following her mother's death from ovarian cancer in 2018 and genetic testing that confirmed both carried the gene.
Tointon took to Instagram on Wednesday to share an emotional post detailing her journey as an ambassador for the Eve Appeal, a gynaecological cancer charity. She announced that she has undergone the preventative surgeries after learning she is at greater risk of both breast and ovarian cancer.
The former Strictly Come Dancing winner, who played Dawn Swann in EastEnders from 2005 to 2009, shared her experience to raise awareness during the charity's Get Lippy campaign.
Kara Tointon at this year's Olivier Awards
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Speaking about her genetic testing journey, Tointon explained: "You may have heard of the BRCA genes type 1 and 2, and as a carrier it means that I am at a greater risk of both breast and ovarian cancer."
She revealed that in 2018, whilst her mother Carol was undergoing treatment for ovarian cancer, she was asked to take a genetics test. "There is a history of both cancers in my family but for various reasons including generational trauma of which I'll talk more about another time, we hadn't looked into it until that point," Tointon said.
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Kara Tointon shot to fame on EastEnders
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The actress continued: "But it was put to us, we took the test and it was confirmed that my mum and I both carried the gene."
As a mother of two, Tointon explained that her family was her main consideration when making the decision about preventative surgery. "I was pregnant with my first child at the time, knew I wanted more children if possible so over the next couple of years I was invited to various meetings by the NHS to really become informed and to understand all my options," she said.
The actress, who has sons Frey, six, and Helly, four, with her Norwegian partner Marius Jensen, a chiropractor, waited until her family was complete before proceeding. "Last year having had my second son in 2021 and deciding that our family was complete, I underwent two preventative surgeries," Tointon revealed.
She spent several years attending NHS consultations to fully understand her options before making the final decision.
The first surgery was a double mastectomy, whilst the second involved a two-part protector study trial. "They believe that ovarian cancer begins in the fallopian tubes so by removing them first checking out you can remove the ovaries later," Tointon explained.
After undergoing several years of medical surveillance including MRIs and biopsies, she decided surgery was the best option for her circumstances.
"We are finding out more and more about personal genetics and most people believe in surveillance, but after doing this for a couple of years, having MRIs, waiting for biopsy, we decided that this was the right decision for me and my family," she said.
Tointon acknowledged the difficulty of her choice, stating: "I wasn't an easy decision, but one I am very glad that I made and I can now with hindsight talk about it properly."
Kara Tointon has been praised for her honesty about the decision
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Tointon expressed gratitude to her medical team, saying: "I'd like to thank my surgeons Dr Adam Rosenthal and Dr Gerard Cuie, I can't thank them enough." She emphasised the importance of sharing her experience to help others facing similar decisions.
"I wanted to talk about it because hearing other people's experience, helped so much and knowledge is power, communication is key, getting to know our bodies, our cycles is only a good thing, but I'll be talking about this a lot more," Tointon said.
The actress concluded her Instagram post by saying: "Happy Lippy month and take care." Her announcement has been met with widespread support from fellow celebrities and members of the public, with many praising her bravery in sharing such a personal journey.
Fans and famous faces soon rushed to the comments of the post to express their admiration for Tointon for being so open and honest about the ordeal.
"Love you so very much my friend!! Xxxxx," podcaster Giovanna Fletcher typed before Emmerdale's Charley Webb echoed: "You’re amazing for sharing your story."
"Sending nothing but love," Kate Thornton added alongside a love heart emoji while the likes of Stacey Dooley and Louisa Lytton were also two who sent love heart emojis. (sic)
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