A mum has revealed she forked out £10,000 to have a breast reduction – having 4.5lbs of tissue and fat.
Cameron Light’s size 40G breasts weighed around 10lbs before she underwent a breast reduction, lift and axillary – or armpit – liposuction.
The 30-year-old says she was regularly left in tears at the discomfort, heartburn and reflux caused by her large chest.
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Cam’s spine was even beginning to bend due to the weight and she had to pay £100 per bra – sometimes wearing several at once.
A video she shared about the surgery exploded, picking up almost 20m views.
The midwife had been considering surgery for 12 years before finally going through with it.
She now says that as soon as the operation was over, she was finally able to breathe fully.
“I loved my new breasts immediately,” Cam, from Florida, US, told Need To Know.
“The relief off my back and shoulders was evident as soon as I woke up.
“I could breathe and that night, I slept without snoring and with no heartburn or reflux, two things that had majorly bothered me before surgery.
“Before, they were warping my back and neck.
“I actually had X-rays done and my cervical spine was starting to bend the wrong way from the weight and my lower back was over-compensating for carrying them.
“It was difficult to breathe and I was often finding myself unable to catch my breath and just standing around.
“They’d been sitting on my lungs and diaphragm.
“It was exhausting, mentally and physically.
“I had to think about them constantly; they were a constant burden in my brain.
“I had to fold them to sit in the bra.”
In total, surgeons removed 2,016 grams – roughly 2kg or 4.5lbs – of tissue.
Cam says she first noticed her breasts were larger than average when she was 16.
After reaching adulthood, she said she tried to make peace with her body for many years.
Meanwhile, she had to put up with stares from men.
She said: “People often stared.
“Men would stare right at them, versus at my face.
“If I dared go braless in public, I received nasty looks from people of all genders and ages.
“I took to wearing multiple bras and crossing my arms just to avoid people staring at them.”
After breastfeeding her son, she decided they “needed to go”.
She said: “I cried over them to my husband, saying how uncomfortable they made me.
“They were heavy and they hurt and they made me look and feel much bigger than I actually was.
“I worked really hard to love them and my body over the years.
“I eventually got to a place of gratitude after nursing my son for two and a half years.
“But then I knew it was time for them to go.”
After the surgery, which she paid for with savings, Cam says her life has been transformed.
She said: “Life is so different in the most mundane ways.
“I snore less and my heartburn is completely gone.
“Seatbelts actually fit properly across my chest.
“I can do dishes without my breasts falling into the sink and having to change my shirt.
“I only have to wear one bra and I don’t have to mind what I’m wearing in public.
“The first time I went outside my house to do something, I didn’t even know what to do with my arms since I didn’t have to cross them.
“My first walk had me confused on where to hold my neck and shoulders.
“It’s been a whirlwind of newness I wasn’t expecting.”
On how others took her news, Cam says she was met with overwhelming support from loved ones.
She said: “Everyone in my life was very supportive.
“They helped take care of me and my family by feeding us after surgery and they celebrated with me at my boob-voyage party a couple of days before the procedure.
“I’m so grateful to them all.”
What Cam didn’t expect, however, was the hugely positive reaction from strangers online – far outweighing mean or “unsettling” comments.
She said: “I received so many messages of people saying ‘You look like me, thank you for sharing, it’s nice to see someone who isn’t afraid to show their natural body online’ or ‘You’ve given me the push I needed to schedule my own surgery’.
“Those messages mean everything to me.
“Even if only one person felt encouraged to do what was right for themselves and their body, that would feel like a win to me.
“Since then, I’ve got tens of thousands of new people in this community and hundreds of those messages.
“It’s been pretty surreal but also affirmed that sharing this journey was the right idea.
“Every once in a while, I get weird or rude or gross comments and messages, 99.9% of the time from men, that are unsettling – but the outpouring of support far outweighs the bad.”
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