Kara Tointon has announced that she has undergone preventative surgery for cancer, six years after her mother’s passing.
In 2018, the former EastEnders actress sadly lost her mother Carol due to ovarian cancer.
Now, several years on from her mother’s death, Kara has revealed that she has undergone preventative steps to help lower her own risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer or ovarian cancer.
In a video posted to Instagram, the 41-year-old - who has two children with her fiancé Marius Jensen - detailed the reason behind her decision to have a double mastectomy and to get her fallopian tubes removed.
“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. Back in 2018 when my mum was undergoing treatment for ovarian cancer, I was asked to take a genetics test,” she recalled.
“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. But it was put to us, we took the test and it was confirmed that my mum and I both carried the gene,” she explained.
The former Strictly winner 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.”
Kara then went on to confirm that she underwent both of her surgeries last year.
“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,” she stated, concluding that it “wasn’t an easy decision”.
Many of Kara’s fellow stars have since been sending her their love, with former Emmerdale star Charley Webb commenting: “You’re amazing for sharing your story.”
“Love you so very much my friend!! Xxxxx,” added I’m A Celebrity winner Giovanna Fletcher.
