A Florida woman, who once wore a G-Cup bra, underwent a dramatic breast reduction. She documented the entire journey on Instagram, and she’s now speaking out about her decision — and why she has zero regrets.
Cameron “Cam” Light says she first began experiencing issues with her breasts as a teen. “I started to realize my discomfort in high school,” she tells PEOPLE exclusively.
“By college, I was overwhelmed with the weight of them. I vividly remember crying to my then-boyfriend-now-husband at 18 in my freshman dorm bathroom, explaining how uncomfortable I was,” she continues. “They were heavy, they hurt, and they didn’t feel like mine. I wanted a reduction so badly, even then.”
Light, 30, says she had her first breast reduction consultation in her early 20s, but several factors kept her from getting the surgery at the time — including the high cost of the procedure, and the fact that she was told she might not be able to breastfeed children after.
“I didn’t want to wait, but there was a lot working against me,” she recalls. “The cost was prohibitive for much of the time. I was still unsure if I’d want children. Plus, the younger you are when you have a reduction, the higher the likelihood that you’d need another one.”
Light says that she and her husband did ultimately decide they wanted kids, and she eventually gave birth to a son. At that point, though, the discomfort caused by her breasts only got worse.
In one candid Instagram post, Light revealed that her bra size measured 42 G.
“They had only gotten heavier and lower since pregnancy and breastfeeding, weighing far over 10 pounds and hanging near my belly button,” she tells PEOPLE.
Light, who was studying to become a midwife at the time, tells PEOPLE she still had a long way to go before she would ultimately get the surgery, however.
“I kept dreaming of the day I was finished with school so I could get the surgery. I was also weighing a potential second pregnancy before that, but ultimately we decided we were done having children,” she recalls.
Finally, years after her initial consultation, Light started researching surgeons and eventually found the right fit.
“She was smart, kind and supportive of my goals,” Light says, describing her surgeon, Dr. Emily Jiles. “She knew how small I wished to go and gave me her best suggestions on how to get there. There was never any pressure to make one decision over another, and as a provider, that gave me such confidence in moving forward.”
Light — who is also the owner of Amaze Games, a small business escape room and board game lounge — had the surgery in January, “after 12 very long years.”
She says she decided to pay for the procedure out of pocket instead of attempting to go through her insurance, as she wanted the utmost control over the outcome. (“I wanted to go as small as possible,” she explained on Instagram.)
“Insurance companies have a say in the procedures they allow and the amounts they take off. I didn’t want some random person telling me what I could and couldn’t do with a permanent decision for my body, so I saved the money and did it on my own,” she further explains to PEOPLE.
Light says she has zero regrets about her decision to undergo the surgery. “I feel more like myself than I have in many, many years. The relief was immediate,” she explains, adding that she immediately lost 5 lbs. off her chest.
“I snore less, my heartburn has completely gone away, and I don’t find myself gasping for air while standing because the weight is finally off of my lungs and diaphragm. I still have a long way to go to correct the damage that weight did to my body, but I’m looking forward to that journey,” Light adds.
“I didn’t realize how much discomfort I had normalized over the years,” she continues. “They were an ever-present annoyance that I had gotten used to … the constant adjusting, planning outfits around what could support the weight, crossing my arms in public so I wouldn’t be stared at, wearing multiple bras just to feel some semblance of support while working and exercising … the list goes on. It had all become so normal to me.”
As for the advice Light would give to others considering breast reduction surgery? She recommends meeting with multiple providers until someone finds the perfect fit.
“I wanted a doctor who listened to me and didn’t try to change my mind or make me go bigger than I wanted to stay ‘proportional.’ Reductions are life-changing surgeries — it shouldn’t be something you do on a whim with people you don’t trust,” she says.
Light adds that it’s okay to “grieve” an old body, even if someone is 100% confident they want the surgery.
“I have always loved my body, even when it didn’t fit what I needed anymore. I celebrated it with my friends a couple of nights before surgery, throwing a boob-voyage party and burning bras in my backyard,” she recalls.
The post Living With G-Cup Breasts After Baby — and the Surgery That Changed Everything first appeared on Voxtrend News.