There is a lot to unpack on those levels. I was diagnosed early, and was given options of a lumpectomy with radiation, or mastectomy. The cancer was smattered throughout my breast like little bits of glitter. If I went with lumpectomy I would have been left with Swiss cheese. Given that and the fact that I had lost my beloved Mother to the breast cancer beast when I was 30 years old, I chose skin and nipple sparing bi-lateral mastectomy. That means take them both. Just take them. Due to possible vascular compromise in this procedure, I was told waking up with nipples was not a guarantee. That was a lot to swallow. Thankfully I was blessed to have an incredible medical team who worked their darndest to make it happen. They were saved. (and they're glorious!)

On a personal level, it took me more than a month to be able to look at myself in the mirror after, never mind anyone else seeing. I was scared. So you can imagine getting back to modelling at all was a long road. Most times a bilateral mastectomy is not a one and done. I had 4 reconstruction surgeries afterward. The last one being in 2023. Still living with cysts that have developed from a fat transfer procedure that didn't work as intended, the C word is always in the back of my mind when I notice and feel these cysts in both of my "breasts". I have been advised it is safer to leave them where they are with monitoring rather than undergo another surgery on delicate skin. Some things I want people to know, having a mastectomy and consequential reconstruction using breast implants is NOT a "free boob job". There is nothing in there anymore except the implant, and in my case just enough vascular pathways in my skin to support the nipple. I have no feeling anymore, and they are fragile. There is no nipple piercing or things of that nature.

After 10 years I now 100% embrace my boobs. Or "foobs", how some survivors jokingly refer to them.