The bigger the breasts, the bigger the problems.
A British woman says her life was ruined by a rare and “debilitating” condition that caused her breasts to balloon to an excessive size, making her feel ashamed of her own body.
Rochelle, who has not disclosed her full name, suffers from gigantomastia, and her breasts began growing rapidly from the age of 10. According to the Cleveland Clinic, only 300 cases of the condition have been reported.
“Throughout school, I felt like I was public property,” the now 37-year-old told Jam Press. “Boys thought it was OK to grab my breasts, and grown men would ogle me when I was out with friends.”
At age 12, Rochelle was already an F cup size, growing to 36HH by the time she was 35.
“I hid my body as much as I could and became very self-conscious,” Rochelle explained, saying she never dared to wear a bikini at the beach.
“Due to the shame I felt over my breasts, I had trouble dating and it affected my confidence about being in a relationship,” she further declared.
In addition to the mental anguish, the Brit’s bountiful bosoms also caused serious physical pain.
“I used to be unable to stand for more than half an hour before feeling pain in my back,” Rochelle said. “I also suffered from severe neck pain.”
However, her condition was trivialized, even among doctors, who told her to “just lose weight.”
Tired of the physical and emotional pain, Rochelle looked into breast reduction surgery.
“Due to being black, I felt it was important to research doctors who had experience operating on black skin,” Rochelle said. “I saw horrific cases of keloid scarring on some black people from some surgeries, which made me scared. This put me off.”
However, the Englishwoman eventually came across Mark Solomos, a leading plastic surgeon who has done more than 20,000 operations.
In December 2022, Solomos performed breast reduction surgery on Rochelle, which set her back $13,360.
Now, she has perky 36DD breasts — and a new lease on life.
“I’m able to shop and date confidently,” Rochelle declared, revealing that Solomos removed more than a kilogram of excess tissue from each breast.
“I haven’t yet been on holiday with friends since I had the surgery, but I’m very much looking forward to a girls’ trip soon. And I will absolutely be wearing a bikini.”
Due to Solomos’ two decades of expertise, Rochelle was left without any scarring
“Shoutout to Mark for being an epic surgeon and for making me feel comfortable the entire time,” she said.
“I’m 37 – but my life has only just started.”
