Kara Tointon said the “hardest part of the process” was making the initial call to schedule her first appointment, Good Morning Britain reports
Former EastEnders actress Kara Tointon has given a health update following her double mastectomy, which she underwent after a genetic test.
The soap star, 42, who is also known for roles in dramas including The Teacher and Mr Selfridge, and for winning Strictly Come Dancing, announced last May that she carries the BRCA gene, which can significantly increase the risk of cancer.
Kara’s mother, Carol, died from ovarian cancer in 2018, leading the actress to say on social media last year that the double mastectomy was “the right decision for me and my family”.
Talking on Good Morning Britain on Monday, she said: “We’re living in a time where we’re so lucky to become aware of personal genetics, and there’s a choice in that, sometimes that can be a daunting thing we wish we didn’t know about.”
“For me to be given the opportunity to make the choice and see what it’s done to my family, it was a no-brainer for me,” she added.
“I’ve had a lucky shot. Everyone has the BRCA gene, but some people have the gene that’s faulty, and it’s a 50 percent chance that it is passed down.
“My sister hasn’t got it, but I have, my sister was so upset she didn’t have it… she wanted us to go through it together, but we have gone through it together, because she held my hand every step of the way.”
Tointon, who has two sons with tech entrepreneur Marius Jensen, said the “hardest part of the process” was making the initial call to schedule her first appointment.
“I couldn’t talk about it at the time because it is a big deal I suppose,” she said.
Kara Tointon announcing her double mastectomy last May
What is the BRCA gene?
The name “BRCA” is an abbreviation for a breast cancer gene.
BRCA1 and BRCA2 are two separate genes that influence a person’s risk of developing breast cancer. Everyone has both BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes.
Despite their name, they do not cause cancer. Instead, they normally help prevent it by repairing damaged DNA and stopping cells from growing uncontrollably, according to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
For this reason, they are known as tumour suppressor genes.
In some people, however, these genes do not work properly because they have become altered or damaged. This is known as a gene mutation.
When this happens, the body is less able to repair DNA damage, increasing the risk of cancer developing.
Hollywood star Angelina Jolie also underwent a double mastectomy after she discovered she carried the BRCA1 gene, leading to greater awareness of the gene defect, following her mother’s death from ovarian cancer.
Around one in 1,000 women across the UK have a BRCA1 variant, but most breast and ovarian cancers happen due to chance damage to genes.
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