Long time EastEnders fans will remember Kara Tointon as Dawn Swann, the archetypal ‘tart with a heart’, who faced an onslaught of trauma; nearly having her baby snatched by the psychotic wife of the man she’d gotten pregnant by, having a fling with Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden) and finally leaving Walford on a canal boat.

Off-screen, though, she’s bravely faced an incredibly intense medical journey, and has provided an update following her double mastectomy and the removal of her fallopian tubes after the discovery that she carries the BRCA gene, which can significantly increase the risk of cancer.

‘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,’ Kara said while appearing on Good Morning Britain.

‘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, 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.’

Kara went on to discuss the ‘hardest part of the process’: making the initial call to schedule her first appointment, saying: ‘I couldn’t talk about it at the time because it is a big deal I suppose.’

When asked if she had any advice to offer other people in a similar situation, she bravely stated: ‘Don’t be scared, facing things actually is empowering.’

Discovering the gene

Last year, Kara took to Instagram to speak of her experience in discovering the gene and what came next, teaming up with gynaecological cancer charity, the Eve Appeal.

In the video, she said: ‘You may have heard of the BRCA genes 1 and 2 and as a carrier it means 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 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.’

Kara’s mum, Carol, sadly passed away in 2019.

She 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. Last year, having had my second son in 2021 and deciding that our family was complete, I underwent two preventative surgeries.