The actress opened up about the importance of getting tested
EastEnders star Kara Tointon shared that she's had to undergo "two preventative" surgeries after doing a cancer gene test.
The former BBC soap actress who played the role of Dawn Swann is also known for her work in dramas including The Teacher and Mr Selfridge and for winning Strictly Come Dancing.
At 41-years-old, the star recently explained how she has the BRCA gene - this put her at a very high risk of being diagnosed with cancer.
Taking to her Instagram on Wednesday (28th May), Kara posted a video while working for gynaecological cancer charity the Eve Appeal.
She said: "You may have heard of the BRCA genes 1 and 2 and as a carrier it means I am 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."
Kara's mother, Caroline, sadly died in 2019 following the diagnosis.
The actress currently shares two children with chiropractor and tech entrepreneur Marius Jensen, as she continued: "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."
Reflecting on the double mastectomy, Kara added: "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."
