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Eastenders and Strictly Come Dancing star Kara Tointon has told how she has undergone a double mastectomy. The actress told how she underwent the surgery, along with having her fallopian

tubes removed, after learning she carried the potentially deadly BRCA1 gene. Posting on Instagram she shared the emotional update saying she had the operation as a preventative measure. She

had lost her mother, Carol, to ovarian cancer in 2018 and following her death she had undergone tests to see if she was at risk. Speaking in a video on the social media site the mum-of-two

explained: "You may have heard of the BRCA genes 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 while 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. 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. "So last year having had my second son in 2021, deciding that our family was complete, last year 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 can remove the ovaries later and closer to menopause. "We are finding out more and more about personal genetics and many find that regular

surveillance suits them very well. But for me, having done that for a few years, having MRIs, finding things, biopsies, waiting for results, I decided that this was the right decision for me

and my family. It wasn't an easy decision, but one I am very glad and lucky I made and I can now with hindsight talk about it properly." Kara, who has two sons Frey, six and Helly

four, is supporting the Eve Appeal, the UK's leading gynaecological charity which aims to help get gynae cancers detected early and help more women survive their diagnosis. The chairty

is currently running Get Lippy month which aims to raise awareness - and funds - to help fight five cancers - womb, ovarian, cervical, vulval and vaginal. Latest figures show more than

22,000 women are diagnosed with one of these cancers every year. Every day 21 people will die as a result of one of the five diseases. Kara is best known for her role as Dawn Swann in

Eastenders. The actress, who won Strictly Come Dancing in 2010, added: "The Eve Appeal has really been a hub of knowledge for me over the last couple of years along with my surgeons Dr

Adam Rosenthor and Dr Gerard Guie. I can't thank them all 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 selves, our bodies, our cycles is only a good thing, and I'll be talking about this a lot more. Happy Get Lippy month and take care."