Unlike some women who ‘jumped at the chance’ for a free breast job, Rebecca Butcher turned down inexpensive plastic surgery, which usually amounts to an impressive $10,000.
She was born with Poland Syndrome, a rare condition that results in underdeveloped chest muscles on only one side, resulting in her breasts being two different sizes. But instead of going under the knife to make her breasts symmetrical, she decided to embrace her condition and became a model – critics be damned.
“I know most girls would jump at the chance of a free breast job, but I didn’t want to change myself – I just wanted to know why my breasts were misshapen,” UK resident Butcher, 26, said. on the South West News Service.
Usually diagnosed in adolescence, the birth defect affects only approx one in 20,000 peopleand for some, it can they limit movement and range of motion over time.
The Barnsley, South Yorkshire, native didn’t notice her physiological differences until she reached puberty, when only one of her breasts began to develop. However, her doctors were not convinced that anything was wrong.
“I sought help from my doctor, but they told me my breasts were ‘normal’ and would ‘grow eventually’ — like how some girls get their periods later than others,” she recalls.
Once she started researching her condition online, her questioning revealed that she may have Poland syndrome, which resulted in one breast being a DD cup size while the other remained an A.
Although she was 16 when she realized she was born with the condition, it wasn’t until she was 20 that she had an ultrasound.
“For years I felt lost, alone and confused, but now that I knew what Poland syndrome was, it was like I finally had an instruction manual for myself,” she said. “I could understand why I am the way I am.”
While doctors offered her the chance to go under the knife at no cost for either a breast augmentation or reduction, she declined.
“I just didn’t feel like I needed a breast job and I have no regrets,” she said.
“A lot of women have complications with it, I just didn’t want to take any chances and some implants aren’t forever.”
She decided to embrace her natural body and turned to modelling, appearing in a Dove advert and walking a catwalk for the charity PIP UK, where models wore special dresses that fit their breasts in support of people with Poland syndrome.
Butcher, also a PIP UK ambassador, revealed she is often subjected to harsh online comments and has been sexualised by men because of her condition.
However, she said it doesn’t particularly bother her, adding that “obviously, as women, we shouldn’t get used to it.”
She usually blocks them out and ignores them, being content with her decision to forgo breast augmentation.
“I’m happy to do my modeling and advocacy work and help other women feel good about themselves,” she said.
