Kara Tointon feels relieved after preventative double mastectomy
Actress Kara Tointon has revealed she felt "very happy" and "relieved" after undergoing a preventative double mastectomy last year.
Kara Tointon felt "very happy" and "relieved" after undergoing a preventative double mastectomy last year.
The Sweeney actress, 41, opted to undergo the breast surgery - as well as having her fallopian tubes removed - after discovering she carries the BRCA1 gene mutation, which significantly increases the risk of breast and ovarian cancer.
Kara has now opened up about her experience and insisted she has no regrets over her decision. In a piece for The Sunday Times newspaper, she wrote: "Last year I made one of the biggest decisions of my life. I chose to have a double mastectomy and have my fallopian tubes removed. I didn’t have cancer, but my decision was driven by it."
Kara revealed she and her sister were tested for the gene mutation after their mother - who died in 2019 - was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and her test came back positive.
She then spent five years being monitored by doctors and decided to put off surgery until after she had welcomed her second child but finding a "benign lumps" in her breast convinced her she needed to act and she felt a huge sense of relief after the first surgery in April 2024.
Kara went on to add: "The operation did take a mental toll - I found myself surprisingly tired for about three months, but to a certain extent that was overridden by the overwhelming sense of relief.
"I still have some procedures to complete but I’m very happy with the results and the decision I’ve made."
She had a second surgery to remove her fallopian tubes five months later and she's planning to have her ovaries taken out in the next few years.
Kara concluded: "One of the biggest fears people have around this type of surgery is the physical scars it leaves and, while I do have those, I don’t worry about them. How you look becomes far less of a concern when you’ve seen your body heal from two potentially life-saving operations.
"I now live a peaceful life in Sogne, southern Norway, with my partner, Marius, and our two sons, but I hope I can use my experience to spread awareness of the tests and operations that can help defend against breast and ovarian cancer."
