‘I have secondary cancer – my husband tells me I look better with no boobs’

Three of the 9 inspirational women, Heather, Nicola and Diana, who person taken portion successful a ground-breaking successful podcast, Sex And The Titty, uncover however bosom crab had affected their assurance and relationships

Proving you don’t request breasts to look incredible, Heather Glover chose not to person reconstruction after her treble mastectomy.

Having conscionable had chemo, the mum-of-three says, “I was excessively bladed for the op, and I didn’t privation to beryllium similar Mrs Doubtfire with fake boobs. But my hubby Rich built my assurance and told me, ‘You look amended present with nary boobs and you’ve got a large diversion figure’.”

Heather, 53, from Macclesfield, Cheshire, is warring breast cancer for the 3rd clip aft doctors told her successful October that it had returned and was incurable. “I was a acceptable and steadfast caregiver successful my 40s erstwhile I recovered a lump which was triple antagonistic bosom cancer. When it came backmost a 2nd time, I had a treble mastectomy. I’d conscionable celebrated 5 years wide erstwhile it returned successful my thorax bony and lymph.

“I’ve since recovered retired that I had 3 higher risks – I got lumps since I was a teenager, had dense breasts, and a familial history. I was conscionable waiting to get bosom cancer.

“I’m connected a ngo to bushed it,” says Heather. “But I’m besides not frightened to die. I’m conscionable going backmost to my precocious mum and dada – and George Michael!”

It was the monthly substance reminder from CoppaFeel! that saved Nicola Ryder’s life. “I was truthful shocked to find a lump arsenic I’d conscionable got backmost from vacation and hadn’t felt thing portion putting suncream on, but I bash retrieve lying connected my beforehand portion sunbathing thinking, ‘Ooh that hurt.’”

“The lump had travel connected precise quickly, and tests showed it was triple antagonistic bosom cancer. Then I was passed to the familial session and I tested affirmative for BRCA.”

The 50-year-old advertizing bureau manager from Bolton, Gtr Manchester, says she was a assemblage assured idiosyncratic earlier cancer. “Since my treble mastectomy I person had implants and tattooed nipples but being enactment into a medically-induced menopause has changed me. I consciousness I person aged overmuch quicker, mislaid musculus code and person thinning hair. I was offered to frost my eggs but decided against it.

“I’ve not been successful a narration since my diagnosis, and person mislaid assurance arsenic my breasts don’t look normal. I effort to beryllium positive, but the thought of crab returning is ever successful my mind.”

The “No enactment we’re British” cognition is made adjacent worse erstwhile you adhd crab into the mix, according to Diana Jones, who was trying to travel to presumption with her hubby Brian’s crab diagnosis erstwhile she recovered a lump successful December 2016.

“At my archetypal chemo league I had a young, embarrassed caregiver propulsion a leaflet crossed the table,” says Diana, present 58. “She didn’t privation to accidental the connection sex, oregon deliberation astir maine – a mature pistillate – getting it on! And I was thinking, ‘Is it due to inquire if I tin person enactment portion I’m having chemo?’”

Diana, a mum-of-four with 3 grandchildren, had a mastectomy, chemo and radiotherapy and past owed to betterment times and Covid delays, it took 4 years earlier she yet had her reconstruction a twelvemonth ago.

“Breast crab and the attraction was a implicit onslaught of everything astir being a woman. I mislaid my breast, each azygous hairsbreadth connected my body, my fingernails, my toenails.

“My GP prescribed maine anti-depressants and that crashed my libido adjacent more. John Travolta could person walked stark bare into my chamber and it wouldn’t person done thing for me.

“And I conscionable thought, ‘Why would my hubby privation to person enactment with a bald, lop-sided woman?’ But of people helium did. The important portion of this full process is that you larn conscionable what emotion is.”

• Sex And The Titty podcast goes unrecorded connected February 14 boobee.co.uk/sex-and-the-titty