Unlike some women who would “jump at the chance” for a free boob job, Rebecca Butcher turned down the no-cost plastic surgery, which typically rings up to an eye-watering $10,000.
She was born with Poland syndrome, a rare condition that results in underdeveloped chest muscles on only one side, causing her breasts to be two different sizes. But instead of going under the knife to make her chest 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 boob job, but I didn’t want to change myself — I just wanted to know why my chest was deformed,” UK resident Butcher, 26, told South West News Service.
Commonly diagnosed in adolescence, the birth defect only affects about one in 20,000 people, and for some, it can limit movement and range of motion over time.
The Barnsley, South Yorkshire, native didn’t notice her physiological differences until she hit puberty, when only one of her breasts began to develop. However, her doctors weren’t convinced that anything was wrong.
“I asked my doctor for help but they told me that my chest was ‘normal’ and ‘would grow eventually’ — like how some girls get their periods later than others,” she recalled.
It wasn’t until she began researching her condition online that her query revealed she might 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, her diagnosis was not confirmed until she was 20 and underwent 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 that I am.”
While doctors offered her the opportunity to go under the knife at no cost for either an augmentation or reduction to even out her chest, she declined.
“I just didn’t feel like I needed a boob job and have no regrets,” she said.
“Lots of women have complications with it, I just didn’t want to take the risk and some implants aren’t forever.”
She decided to embrace her natural body and turned to modeling, appearing in a Dove advert and walking a runway for the charity PIP UK, where the models wore bespoke dresses that fit their chests in support of people with Poland syndrome.
Butcher, also a PIP UK ambassador, revealed that she is often subjected to cruel comments online and has become sexualized by men because of her condition.
However, she said it doesn’t bother her much, adding that “obviously, as women, we shouldn’t have to get used to it.”
She usually blocks and ignores them, remaining content with her decision to forego breast augmentation.
“I’m happy doing my modeling and advocacy work and helping other women to feel good about themselves,” she said.
