A 22-year-old woman, from Hitchin, Hertfordshire, had two extra breasts under her armpits which appeared when she was just 12.
Phoebe Ellis was left devastated and traumatized as it made her suicidal during her teenage years.
She had to hide her body under baggy clothes and always thought that it was just excess fat.
She was finally got a diagnosis of accessory breast tissue from a private doctor after a decade.
Phoebe was turned down by NHS multiple times as she was told her issue is not eligible for free surgery as it is ‘cosmetic’.
Ms. Phoebe said: “It is hard being resentful towards the NHS because you know what they do and how stretched they are but when it is regarding yourself it is easier to be resentful.”
She said what she went through was traumatizing and it made her suicidal.
She felt uncomfortable and embarrassed with everyone as she was ashamed of her four breasts.
She told that she would never wear bikinis on the beach and would only wear baggy T-shirts. She always felt weird and gross.
She said: “It sucks thinking that it was just fat.
I had really big boobs anyway so I thought it could have something to do with that.”
Ms. Phoebe asked for surgery or investigations on the NHS four times but she was refused as they told her that her issue is not eligible for free surgery.
She said: “I know women who have had breast reduction from the NHS.
But why is it that I would be more likely to get a nose job on the NHS rather than being able to remove tumors that nobody knows what is inside them.”
“It felt really hurtful that nobody cared.”
Finally, in 2019, she spent £5,500 and had an excision procedure performed by Dr. Khan.
Her tumours were sent to the lab for testing and she discovered she had a condition called accessory axillary (armpit) breast tissue.
Though she is left with a big scar after her private surgery, she says it is better than the lumps.
She said: “I want young girls not to hide away in shame and to let it affect the rest of your life.”
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