A woman believed to have the 'biggest breasts in the UK' has opened up about the symptoms of the rare medical condition.
Summer Robert was diagnosed with macromastia, a condition that means her breasts never stop growing, around three years ago, after her bra size went up 11 times within 12 months.
The 28-year-old said she's faced abuse and discrimination over her ever-growing chest, having drinks thrown over her, and even being kicked out of venues, because of her voluptuous bosom.
The Scot has been forced to live with a number of physical issues as a result of her unusually large breasts, which are currently an R-cup and weigh a whopping four stone, such as chronic back pain and sore shoulders.
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She has even been turned down for a breast reduction on three separate times when she was aged 16, 17 and 22.
"The turning point was when I found a lump in my breast. That was terrifying. I went to my GP, they felt it too, and referred me to a breast specialist the same day," Summer told LADbible.
"When I saw the specialist, they told me it wasn’t cancer, which was a huge relief, but they also said I had a lot of breast tissue and recommended a reduction."
For the first time in her life, she felt heard and hopeful she would get the support she needed, but then the Covid pandemic happened.
"My surgery was postponed. When services resumed, I called to reschedule and was told they no longer offered the procedure on the NHS," Summer continued.
However, when she sought out private treatment, she was once again told her BMI was too high, despite much of her overall body weight being attributed to her chest.
"My only remaining option was to go abroad, somewhere like Turkey, but I was scared. It didn’t feel safe to me. So I didn’t go through with it," she recalled.
Stuck on what to do next, Summer decided to launch an OnlyFans account and 'something completely unexpected happened,' when she began to love her body.
"The same body I’d been told was a problem suddenly became something powerful. People online were more informed about my condition than some of the doctors I’d seen. For the first time, I felt understood," the model revealed.
"After the breast cancer scare, I went to a different doctor. He told me I didn’t have cancer, I had macromastia. The way he explained it was by printing out a Wikipedia page and handing it to me. That was the extent of the information."
Although she found the experience 'stressful,' it was also incredibly 'validating,' after she'd spent so long believing her health was at serious risk.
The model went on to see a specialist in Los Angeles who explained that the rapid growth of her breasts was likely triggered by the hormonal change a woman experiences around the age of 25, but to this day, they're still growing.
Now, Summer has grown so confident with her body that if someone offered her a breast reduction, she would turn it down.
"It took me a long time to get here. But my body gave me confidence. It gave me freedom. It gave me a career. It gave me a new lease of life," she said. "And I wouldn’t change it."
What is macromastia?
Macromastia, or gigantomastia as it is sometimes referred to, is extremely rare. Only around 300 cases have been reported.
For Summer, it means constant back pain, an inability to exercise, and a huge struggle to find clothes that fit.
It can also lead to infections or lesions under your breasts, painful indentations on the skin from your bra and loss of feeling in your nipples, Cleveland Clinic explains.
It can be caused by genetics, hormonal changes like puberty and pregnancy, autoimmune conditions like lupus and arthritis, and some medications.
Sometimes medication can stop the breasts growing, while some patients opt for breast reduction surgery - but Summer has been told that going under the knife may not be effective for her.
Emma Rosemurgey