Kara Tointon has revealed that she’s undergone a double mastectomy after learning that she carries the deadly BRCA1 gene.
The actress, aged 41 and known for her role in EastEnders, shared a heartfelt post on Instagram. She revealed her decision to undergo a double mastectomy and have her fallopian tubes removed. This choice came after tragically losing her mother to ovarian cancer in 2018.
Tointon, who is a mother herself to two young children with her partner Marius Jensen, disclosed her preventive surgery. She bravely shared her story as an ambassador for the Eve appeal, a charity focused on raising awareness for gynaecological cancers.
Tointon’s operation comes just six years after her mother Carol passed away following her own battle with the disease.
Through her social media platform, the actress described her journey of discovering that she carries the BRCA1 gene. It’s a courageous step she has taken to safeguard her health and future well-being.
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Speaking ahead of the charity’s Get Lippy campaign to highlight the causes and symptoms of various gynae cancers, Kara revealed that after she losing her mother to ovarian cancer in 2018, she underwent genetic testing which revealed that she is predisposed to the disease.
She said: ‘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.
‘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.’
As a mother-of-two, Kara told how her family were her main consideration in her decision making.
She 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 out you can remove the ovaries later.’
Tointon, a former Strictly Come Dancing winner, revealed that after having several medical investigations, she decided that surgery was the best option.
‘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.
‘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.’
Tointon is not the only woman in the public eye to talk openly about her procedure.
Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie also had a double mastectomy as well as having her ovaries and fallopian tubes removed, after she was found to have a 50 per cent risk of developing ovarian cancer.’
Tointon raises two sons Frey, 6 and Helly 4, with her Norwegian partner Marius Jenson, a chiropractor. The family divide their time between Britain and Norway where Kara’s sister Hannah and her father still live.
Her own mother died of ovarian cancer in 2019, months after the actress revealed she had been struggling with poor health.
Speaking to HELLO! about her plans to marry Jenson, she said: ‘We are hoping next year, perhaps in Norway or maybe in London.
‘My mum hasn’t been too well over the last year or so and I want her to be able to enjoy it.
‘Seeing her with Frey and dealing with everything she has to right now is overwhelming and I couldn’t be more proud.
‘I just want her to be back to herself again. That’s our priority.’
Paying tribute to Carol in a moving Instagram post shortly after her death, Tointon wrote: ‘I miss you. I miss your voice. I miss your smile. I miss your smell. I miss your hug. I miss your jokes. I miss how you made me feel. I miss your everything.’
She added: ‘God I was so lucky muma. Do laugh that I’m reaching out to you on INSTAGRAM. I love you.’
The actress gave birth to youngest child Frey in 2018, with her partner subsequently confirming the news in a short message.
‘On Thursday at 11.04am, 3.2 kilos of happiness joined our lives,’ he wrote. ‘Kara and I couldn’t be happier and our four legged companions Elfie and Winston have been guarding our new family member since.’
Second child Helly was born in 2021, with Tointon later describing the child as ‘very zen, chilled and wonderful’ during a subsequent interview with HELLO!
Jensen added that his name was inspired by his native country Norway, adding that he also has the middle names Juel and Parsell.
He explained: ‘The first Helly we found was an old Norwegian sea captain, from a place in Norway called Moss, a tiny little town where my grandmother is from.’
Signing off from social media on Wednesday, Tointon paid tribute to the doctors and the Eve appeal charity and their support.
She said: ‘I’d like to thank my surgeons Dr Adam Rosenthal and Dr Gerard Cuie, I can’t thank them enough.
‘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.
‘Happy Lippy month and take care.’
