Former EastEnders star Kara Tointon has revealed she underwent a double mastectomy following a gene test.
The actress, who is also known for her work in dramas including The Teacher and Mr Selfridge and for winning Strictly Come Dancing, explained she has the BRCA gene, which can put her at very high risk of cancer.
Working with the UK gynaecological cancer charity the Eve Appeal, of which she is an ambassador, Tointon posted an Instagram video on Wednesday to raise awareness of the preventative measure she has taken.
She said: "You may have heard of the BRCA genes 1 and 2, and as a carrier it means I am at a greater risk of both breast and ovarian cancer.
"Back in 2018, when my mum was undergoing treatment for ovarian cancer, I was asked to take a genetics test.
"There is a history of both cancers in my family on my mother's side, 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.
"But it was put to us, we took the test, and it was confirmed that my mum and I both carried the gene."
Tointon, who has two boys with the chiropractor and tech entrepreneur Marius Jensen, also said: "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.
"Last year, having had my second son in 2021 and deciding that our family was complete, I underwent two preventative surgeries.
"The first a double mastectomy and the second a two-part protector study, a trial.
"They believe that ovarian cancer begins in the fallopian tubes so by removing them first, checking them out, you then remove the ovaries later, and closer to menopause.
"We are finding out more and more about personal genetics and many people find that regular surveillance suits them very well. But for me, having done that for a few years, MRIs finding things, biopsies, waiting for result, I decided that this was the right decision for me and my family.
"It wasn't an easy decision, but one I'm very glad and lucky I made, and I can now, with hindsight, talk about it properly."
Kara Tointon's mother, Carol Tointon, died in 2019.
Angelina Jolie underwent a double mastectomy after she discovered she carried the BRCA1 gene, leading to greater awareness of the gene defect. Jolie's decision followed her mother Marcheline Bertrand's death from ovarian cancer in 2007.
Tointon is known for portraying Dawn Swann in the soap opera EastEnders and triumphing on series eight of the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing with her professional dance partner Artem Chigvintsev in 2010.
Her sister Hannah Tointon is also an actress and has been in Channel 4 shows including the soap Hollyoaks and the comedy series The Inbetweeners.
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Source: Press Association
