The 2 surprising factors that ‘increase your breast cancer risk' as Kara Tointon reveals brave mastectomy
Yesterday, former EastEnders star Kara Tointon revealed she's taken the decision to have a double mastectomy after discovering she carries a gene that increases her risk. But did you know, there are everyday factors that can influence your chances of the disease - including your height?
9
Kara Tointon revealed she underwent a double mastectomy back in 2021
9
Former EastEnders star Kara bravely spoke out on her own experience to raise awareness of the disease
Credit: Getty
The 41-year-old posted an Instagram video to raise awareness of the preventative measure, after discovering she was at risk of both breast and ovarian cancer.
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."
The soap star was asked to take a genetics test when her mum Carol was undergoing treatment for ovarian cancer back in 2018.
Sadly, her mum died in 2019.
After having her second son in 2021 and deciding her family was complete, she underwent two preventative surgeries - the first a double mastectomy and the second a two-part procedure involving the removal of the fallopian tubes and later the ovaries.
BRCA stands for BReast CAncer. It refers to the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which are tumor suppressor genes that play a role in DNA repair and preventing uncontrolled cell growth.
When these genes have alterations (mutations), it can increase the risk of developing breast cancer and other cancers.
According to Dr Deborah Lee, of Dr Fox Online Pharmacy, women who carry abnormal BRAC 1 and BRAC2 genes have an 85 per cent increased lifetime risk of breast cancer.
She added: "Breast cancer is more likely to occur at an earlier age and to affect both breasts.
"The risk of ovarian cancer is also increased."
Individuals are at a higher risk of carrying BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations if they have a family history of breast, ovarian, or prostate cancer, particularly if multiple close relatives have been diagnosed.
A tiny lump in my breast nearly killed me at just 31 - I felt 'amazingly healthy'
If you think you could be at risk, Dr Lee advises seeing your GP.
She said: "After a consultation, you may be referred for predictive genetic testing.
"There are pros and cons of having the predictive test and not everyone will want to have it.
"Before you have the test, you will be offered genetic counselling. The test is a blood test."
Two risk factors that might surprise you
BRCA genes aren't the only risk factor for breast cancer.
Dr Kerri Palmer-Quinn, senior scientific research officer at Breast Cancer UK, says the biggest risk factor is ageing - something we unfortunately cannot control.
Like many cancers, family history of the disease and various lifestyle and environmental factors can also influence your risk
But other risk factors for breast cancer may surprise you.
Being tall
9
Being tall can slightly increase your risk of breast cancer
Credit: Getty
Studies suggest there's a slight link between height and breast cancer risk, with taller women potentially having a slightly higher chance of developing the disease.
Dr Palmer-Quinn said: "Being tall can slightly increase your risk of breast cancer.
"The reasons behind this association are still being investigated, however it may be linked to the growth spurts taller woman have during early development.
"These growth spurts mean that taller women may have higher levels of certain growth factors as well as the growth hormone insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1).
"IGF-1 can promote cell growth and prevent programmed cell death which can increase the risk of cancer, including breast cancer."
High breast density
9
Having high breast density is strongly associated with the disease
Credit: Getty
Having high breast density (also known as mammographic density) is a strong risk factor for breast cancer.
Dr Palmer-Quinn explained: "having dense breasts means you have higher proportions of fibrous and glandular tissue which is where breast cancers are more likely to arise, in comparison to fat tissue.
"Breast density can only be determined by a mammogram scan and isn't related to how your breasts look or feel.
"Having dense breasts can make these mammogram scans more difficult to interpret meaning potential cancers are harder to identify.
"Breast density can be influenced by your genetics and potentially the environment; it also may change overtime and tends to reduce with age."
Other risk factors to be aware of
While some breast cancer risk factors are unavoidable, including age, others are modifiable and can be addressed to potentially lower your risk.
Weight gain throughout adulthood
9
Weight gain through adulthood can increase the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer
Credit: Getty
Weight gain throughout adulthood increases the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer; particularly if the weight gain occurs after menopause has taken places, advised Dr Palmer-Quinn.
She added: "After menopause, the body's production of the sex hormone oestrogen shifts from the ovaries to fat tissue. Therefore, increased body fat can lead to higher levels of circulating oestrogen, which is a known risk factor for breast cancer.
"In addition, excess body fat can contribute to chronic inflammation and disrupt hormone regulation in ways that may further increase breast cancer risk."
What you can do: To maintain a healthy weight, focus on a balanced diet, regular physical activity, and healthy lifestyle habits. Prioritise fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins, and limit sugary drinks and processed foods. Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week.
Alcohol consumption
9
Alcohol can raise levels of circulating oestrogen and raise the risk of breast cancer
Credit: Getty
Any level of alcohol consumption can increase the risk of developing breast cancer - there is no safe threshold.
Dr Palmer-Quinn explained: "Alcohol raises levels of circulating oestrogen.
"It is also broken down into acetaldehyde, a compound that can damage DNA and potentially lead to cancer.
"Additionally, alcohol can contribute to weight gain, which may further increase risk, particularly after menopause."
What you can do: When it comes to giving up alcohol it can help to tell your family and friends that you're aiming to stop drinking alcohol and explain why. This way, you can share your successes with them, and they'll understand why you've started turning down drinks or trips to the pub. Try to identify the times when you would usually drink and fill the gap with something else. And remember to enjoy the benefits, including weight loss, better sleep, and more energy.
Smoking
9
Smoking has been shown to increase the risk of breast cancer by 10 per cent
Credit: Getty
Studies have shown a small but statistically significant increased risk of breast cancer in women who smoke compared to those who have never smoked.
Dr Lee said: "Current smoking increases the risk of breast cancer by 10 per cent compared to those who have never smoked."
What you can do: The most effective way to quit smoking is to combine nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) or other medications with professional support from a local stop smoking service.
Lack of exercise
9
Lack of exercise is a well known risk factor for breast cancer, as well as many other types of cancer
Credit: Getty
A lack of physical activity is a well-established risk factor for breast cancer.
Dr Lee explained: "Regular physical activity has been shown to reduce the risk of breast cancer by around 20 per cent.
"Exercise lowers hormone levels and reduces inflammation as well as helping control body weight."
What you can do: To begin exercising, start with low-impact activities like brisk walking, swimming, or yoga, and gradually increase intensity and duration. Set realistic goals, choose activities you enjoy, and schedule exercise into your routine. Consider finding an exercise buddy, using a journal or app to track progress, and varying your workouts to stay motivated.
As well as doing what you can to reduce your risk of breast cancer, make sure you're well aware of the symptoms to look out for - see a GP if you experience any of the below...
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Times
19 hours ago
- Times
Why is my generation so obsessed with being skinny?
I recently posted a picture of myself on social media, with one intention, but the outcome was unexpected. I put up a video on my Instagram of myself in the gym, wearing a sports bra and leggings and doing some physio exercises I'd been set in order to recover from a painful back injury. The caption read something like, 'Look, I can touch my toes again!', as I slowly bent forward with my arms outstretched towards the ground. I felt a sense of achievement, so why did the response send me into a complete spiral? 'You look incredible!', 'Skinny minny!', 'ABS!'. A flurry of messages about how good I was looking filled up my DMs. Messages that would have usually made me feel so happy, just made me cry. I couldn't understand why everyone thought I looked so good on the outside, when actually I was in the worst state I'd ever been in, physically and emotionally. It's true, I'd lost weight rapidly — 5kg in under two weeks, to be precise — thanks to a concoction of strong pain meds and an adverse gut reaction to them, meaning I hadn't been able to eat properly in weeks. Added to this I hadn't been able to work out for months and I was signed off work for a little while to try to get over the 'acute' phase of my injury. I'm someone who loves sport and fitness — I play netball, cycle long distances, play tennis and squash — as well as train in the gym. It keeps me in shape mentally as well as physically, so it was devastating to have to stop. I was in a dark place, temporarily stripped of my freedom, ability to do normal things — and my muscles were disappearing. I was miserable. And yet everyone was telling me how good I looked. • Is this new diet the secret to weight loss? I made light of it, joking that I'd gained bingo wings, waving my flabby underarms where toned triceps used to be. What people were calling 'abs' wasn't in fact the core I'd spent years building up, but rather a lack of muscles and the optical illusion of just a bit less fat around my waist. Granted, my legs looked slim for the first time ever and my cheekbones 'popped', but if you looked closely I was gaunt, grey, glassy-eyed and frankly quite sad. I might've looked good to outsiders, but I was the least healthy and happy I'd ever been. This reaction isn't a one-off. I've had similar comments over the past few months around how 'trim I'm looking these days'. A colleague at work asked me last month if I'd lost weight and most friends I see have been saying the same. One friend I went for a walk with recently even said I had 'Ozempic face … but in a good way'. These are the sorts of compliments some people dream of receiving, but I just brushed them off. I hadn't been trying to get a slimmer frame, I'd been spending most of my time lying flat on the floor, in pain and in a dark place. Is skinny back to being the new indicator of happiness? Whatever happened to 'strong is the new skinny' — a slogan that came about in the early 2010s and flooded through the fitness industry promoting body positivity? Now, seemingly, we're in a skinny jab-filled world where embracing all body types seems to have gone as quickly as any other wellness fad. • Ozempic side-effects: what weight-loss drugs do to your body As a child of the Nineties and Noughties I too have been on the body-insecurity rollercoaster. At 32 I'm part of a generation who grew up with 'burn books' and eating disorders. Going to an all-girls school helped to fuel the toxic body dysmorphia so many of us had. It was never the guys we were trying to impress, it was each other in the Topshop changing rooms, hoping to achieve the perfect 'thigh gap'. As a child I had chubby thighs that I've never really been able to shake. My mother congratulates me on inheriting the 'family thunder thighs'. But aside from the odd family jibe about a few extra pounds I put on at university I'm lucky that I've mostly been brought up in a healthy and sport-obsessed family. When strong bodies were supposedly in vogue I was in my twenties. Everybody was banging on about body positivity — society told us to look up to celebs (JLo, Beyoncé and plus-sized models such as Ashley Graham) who were celebrated for their big, healthy thighs and fit bodies. For someone who has always struggled with their weight, wanting to be smaller than my size 12-14, I gladly rode the wave. I became happy with my fit womanly physique. I've never been able to slim down, but I do so much sport I'm happy that I can always be toned. It doesn't matter that I'm not naturally a size 8. When I'm injury-free I work out at least five times a week, flitting from HIIT class to weights in the gym, spinning and reformer Pilates and running, as well as my weekly matches. I love the endorphins working out gives me, but also how much more confident it has made me feel about how my body looks in — or out of — clothes. I've come to love my muscles. I've worked hard for them. I've always been able to bat away any temptations towards eating disorders. While the girls around me lived on a diet of frozen grapes or ordered diet pills from dark corners of the internet like some of my friends at school did, I've never really even been on a diet. I think this comes more from a position of mental strength than body confidence. I won't pretend that my broad arms and stumpy thighs haven't ever bothered me. I'm just not someone who will obsess over skinniness, as so many seem to be doing again. • Weight-loss drugs shrink supermarket sales I don't judge people for having weight-loss jabs for non-medical reasons, but it makes me sad that it's fast becoming as common to discuss over the dinner table among my peers as other injectables already are. It's not even slightly unusual for women my age to have Botox — I have resisted. Since weight-loss drugs came on the scene a couple of years ago I've managed to drown out the noise with my usual coping mechanism: sport. I am still firmly in the camp that strong is better than skinny and, for now, the goal is to get my pre-injury body back and have muscly arms and abs. But it's hard to ignore what's going on around us — body positivity is a nice idea, but I'm not convinced society ever really believed in it. For a brief moment I achieved the skinny version of me I always wondered and hoped existed, and everyone else noticed her. I admit that despite my initial shock, a bit of me liked this validation, if only for a few weeks. For the first time in my life I started weighing myself every day. I even considered continuing to not eat. The people who messaged me on Instagram had good intent, but my insecurities about my body were feasting on it. It's hard to ignore what other people see, but I knew I had to start eating again in order to regain my strength to start my physical recovery, to get back to the things that make me tick; to work and to life and to be the healthy version of me, even if that did mean putting on weight. Skinny might feel good — but it leaves a bitter taste.
Scottish Sun
a day ago
- Scottish Sun
The 7 foods that could protect you from common fat jab side effect, suggest scientists
Find out more about side effects linked to fat jabs below NO WEIGH The 7 foods that could protect you from common fat jab side effect, suggest scientists Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) WOMEN and older adults who use increasingly popular weight-loss drug semaglutide could protect themselves from a common side effect by eating more protein, say scientists. It may be an important step in reducing insulin resistance and preventing frailty in people with obesity, they add. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 Women and older adults using semaglutide nay be at risk of losing muscle mass, previous studies have found Credit: Getty A previous study presented at ENDO 2025 suggested women and older adults using semaglutide, a GLP-1 receptor agonist, for weight loss may be at a higher risk of losing muscle mass. Muscle loss, also referred to as lean mass loss, is a frequent consequence of weight reduction in people with obesity. According to lead researcher Dr Melanie Haines of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in a new study, this type of muscle loss can negatively influence metabolism and bone health. That's because muscle helps manage blood sugar levels after eating and contributes to bone strength. According to a study published in Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, up to 40 per cent of the total weight lost while using semaglutide may be lean mass. But Dr Haines noted it's still unclear which patients are most likely to lose muscle and how this muscle loss might impact blood sugar control. To explore this further, researchers observed 40 adults with obesity over a three-month period. Of these participants, 23 were treated with semaglutide, while the remaining 17 took part in a weight-loss programme called Healthy Habits for Life (HHL), which focuses on diet and lifestyle changes. The team then monitored shifts in the participants' muscle mass over the course of the study. They found participants who were prescribed semaglutide lost more weight than those who participated in the diet and lifestyle programme. Weight Loss Jabs - Pros vs Cons But the percent of weight loss that was lean mass was similar between the two groups. After accounting for weight loss, the researchers found in the semaglutide group, being older, female, or eating less protein was linked to greater muscle loss. Losing more muscle was also linked to less improvement in blood sugar levels. 'Older adults and women may be more likely to lose muscle on semaglutide, but eating more protein may help protect against this,' Haines said. 'Losing too much muscle may reduce the benefits of semaglutide on blood sugar control. "This means preserving muscle during weight loss with semaglutide may be important to reduce insulin resistance and prevent frailty in people with obesity.' There are both animal and plant-based sources of protein. Here are seven to include in your diet: Animal sources Lean meats - chicken breast, turkey, beef, and pork are excellent sources of high-quality protein, offering a range of vitamins and minerals. Fish - salmon, tuna, and other fish are rich in protein and omega-3 fatty acids. Eggs - a complete protein source, meaning it contains all nine essential amino acids. Dairy - milk, yogurt (especially Greek yogurt), and cheese (especially cottage cheese) are good sources of protein and calcium. Plant-based sources Legumes - beans, lentils, and peas are excellent sources of protein, fibre, and other nutrients. Nuts and seeds - almonds, walnuts, chia seeds, and pumpkin seeds offer protein, healthy fats, and vitamins. Tofu and soy products - tofu, tempeh, and edamame are good sources of protein, particularly for vegetarians and vegans. In the UK, semaglutide for weight loss is available under the brand name Wegovy, and is prescribed through specialist weight management services within the NHS. It's an injectable medication (once weekly) that is used alongside a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity. Ozempic, another semaglutide medication, is specifically for type 2 diabetes and is available on the NHS.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Daily Mail
Scam alert: Firm uses fake images of top TV star to push £55-a-month weight loss treatment - could YOU have been fooled?
A slimming pill falsely claiming to have been endorsed on BBC 's Dragons' Den has appeared in dozens of misleading online adverts, consumer group Which? has warned. Researchers found 62 adverts for the product, called Nixol, in Meta 's ad library—many of which appeared to be published by scammers. Some of the adverts falsely claimed the weight-loss tablets had been pitched to the Dragons, while others used the Dragons' Den logo, images of investor Sara Davies MBE, or were posted from accounts named after the show. Several ads also linked to websites impersonating Daily Mail news articles, mimicking MailOnline branding to appear credible. Which? warned that such adverts are designed to mislead and may put consumers' health at risk. Most of the adverts claimed that Nixol was a 'powerful remedy' that could help users lose 26.5lb in just two weeks — a claim with no clinical backing. Others claimed it was clinically tested by more than 29,000 men and women, has no side effects, and is 100 per cent natural. Earlier this year, Ms Davies MBE, told BBC Morning Live she'd been made aware of fake adverts of her promoting weight loss tablets. She revealed one of her friend's mothers had spent £100 on slimming pills that never arrived after seeing one of them. In a Instagram post she said, 'they are all scams' and that she's currently working with legal teams at the BBC to get the ads taken down. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) warns against getting weight loss medications from anywhere other than a pharmacy or a doctor. This is because, the Which? experts said: 'Fake diet pills have been found to contain dangerous and illegal substances.' The product testing company contacted Nixol about the ads but say it has had no response from its email address. And when they tried calling up the number on the website, the experts said, 'the call didn't connect'. Then, when they looked up their business unit address, they said: 'It appears to be registered to another company.' When they contacted the company that occupies the building, they told Which? they have no connection to Nixol and had never heard of them before. The product testing website traced images used on one website to 'several other places on the internet'. This led them to find 'some were from news articles' as well as 'real people who had lost weight via other methods'. The experts also revealed the website featured an AI-generated image of judges on Dragons' Den holding boxes of the slimming pill. They said: 'Another recently created website that was linked to from the ads impersonated the Daily Mail.' 'This website was registered to the same location in Reykjavik, Iceland, where we also found several scam websites were registered to last year when we unpicked a global financial scam.' This website, they said: 'Led to a retail website where you can buy Nixol for £55 per month. It's likely that buying this will lead to a subscription trap, which is a type of scam we've previously warned about.' They also reported: 'On Trustpilot, buyers of Nixol complained of the pills not working, not being able to obtain a refund and coming across the products after seeing a fake Daily Mail report. 'One reviewer mentioned that a questionnaire they filled out advised them that they were obese, despite having a healthy BMI.' Despite the product testing website reporting the ads to Meta who have taken them down, new ads promoting Nixol have already been posted. The company Meta which owns several social media platforms told Which?, its health and wellness advertising policy prohibits certain weight loss products adds. These include any featuring side-by-side before and after comparisons, close-ups to specific body areas or promote unhealthy or negative body images. Lisa Webb, a consumer law expert for Which? told MailOnline: 'It's worrying, but sadly unsurprising, that scores of scam ads for dodgy Nixol diet pills have been allowed to slip through the net on popular social media platforms.'
