‘Larger than a K cup’: Sheffield woman with enormous breasts denied reduction from NHS twice

A Sheffield woman with ‘enormous breasts’ too large for a K cup, is raising money to get a reduction as she says she wants ‘to live her best life’ after the NHS rejected her application twice.

Gemma Lock, 51, was denied a breast reduction due to her BMI being too high, however she feels she meets all the criteria to be able to get a the surgery on the health service.

She said: “I get breast pain, back pain, rashes, I get grooves from bra wear, difficulty exercising. Then there’s this mental health side, not wanting to be visible and make an effort with my appearance and getting abuse from men like untoward comments.

“Then not having bras that fit and not finding anything that fits in normal clothes in shops so it’s this downward spiral of just wanting to hide away from the world, which isn’t living your best life really.”

Gemma decided enough is enough and started a GoFundMe to raise the funds to get the surgery done privately.

The GoFundMe page has received over £2000 already and she said she was ‘overwhelmed’ by the support and she even offers her artwork on commission to those who donate.

The surgery would reduce the size of her breasts to double ds which, Gemma says, would have lots of both physical and mental benefits.

Gemma continued: “I can’t imagine being able to wear a swimming costume that actually fits; so a bikini, that would just be awesome. I swim regularly and I just kind of wear something that holds it all in. 

“To actually feel comfortable with myself and actually feel positive about my body and how I look and be able to wear clothes where I have a sort of reasonable top half and shape and feel attractive. It’s incredibly exciting.”

At first, Gemma planned to go abroad to get the surgery done, however after weighing up the risks and meeting with a UK breast specialist and surgeon, she has decided to get it done closer to home albeit more expensive.

Gemma began her weight loss during the pandemic

Gemma told Steel City Insider: “I’m not necessarily shopping for a bargain sofa. It’s my health and my breasts, which are a very important personal part of me. 

“The risks are greater [going abroad]. The care afterwards and complications, I hadn’t quite realised before speaking to the surgeon just now that that is the risk.

“Having realised now that I think I do need to have it in the UK, that’s going to be over £7000 rather than £3500. I’m a quarter of the way there, not halfway, so anything I can do to increase that.”

The surgery itself takes around three hours and Gemma says there is a 1% chance of nipple necrosis as well as risks of thrombosis, infection and scarring.

Gemma has lost five stone in order to increase chances of surgery which has been a ‘big journey’ for her, and says that she is going to lose more weight and work on her cardiovascular fitness to help with the recovery process.

You can donate to Gemma’s GoFundMe here.