“My boobs are so big they weigh 2 stone and I have to use a walking stick”

A woman with K breasts says her huge bust leaves her in pain – but she can’t afford the £7,500 surgery for a reduction

Anji Chalk, 22, from Llandudno, North Wales, had H breasts when she was just 14 and now has to order special bras from Poland, which cost £80 each.

Now she’s desperate to raise £7,500 for a reduction after being “repeatedly fired by doctors and told to lose weight”.

Forced to use a cane to get around, Anji fears she will be “permanently disabled” by the crushing weight of her chest.

The 22-year-old has permanent dents in her shoulders and pays £80 every other month for sturdy ‘granny’ bras as the underwires break regularly.

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After allegedly being repeatedly turned away by doctors to even be considered for NHS surgery because of her weight, 20 Stone Anji embarked on a healthy eating plan and dropped two stones.

However, 5ft 7in Anji said her weight soon plateaued and, unable to work out due to severe back pain, her weight loss journey came to a halt.

Now doctors have concluded that she suffers from gigantomastia – an exponential growth of excessive breast tissue.

Stuck in a cycle of doctor visits and being fired, Anji hopes to have the surgery privately in the UK.

Anji, from Llandudno, North Wales, said: “The doctors have said they want me to lose half my body weight and be around 10 or 11 kilos, which of course I would like to be.

“The thing is, my boobs weigh at least a rock.

“I’m a size 40K and I have to change my bras every few months because the underwire breaks.

“I spend so much money on ‘granny’ bras that I get orders from Poland – the cheapest are around £80.

“I don’t leave the house unless I’m going shopping, but when I do I take my walking stick with me.

“I get sores and sweats under my boobs, it’s just agony and sometimes they itch to the point of bruising.

“The straps are cutting into my skin and I have bruises and scars on my shoulders and nicks from my bras.

“One of the big issues with my current bra is that the underwires dig into my skin on the sides because the cup size is a size too small and I also have bruises on the side of my breasts.

“People are poking me all the time, I’ve come home with bruises on my boobs a few times because someone accidentally bumped into me because they’re sticking out so much.

“The person thinks they won’t hit me, but they do it because of my boobs.

“When I lie down, I have to manually take them off my chest if I want to sleep on my back.

“I can’t wear a bra lying down because all the weight of it is on my chest and I can’t breathe.

“I’m very worried that I’m going to get to a point where I’ll be permanently disabled because of it.”

Anji turned to doctors in Llandudno, North Wales from the age of 13 and to doctors in Preston, Lancashire from 2022 while studying at university.

She has a long history of breast problems, beginning at the very young age of seven when she went through precocious puberty.

Anji said: “I was seven when I started growing breasts.

“My parents started to worry and that was what triggered the realization that I was going through precocious puberty.

“I was so young I didn’t quite realize it.

“My parents didn’t really explain to me at the time why I had to go to the hospital. But as I got older, my parents explained to me when I started noticing.

“I remember I was a sixth year, like nine or ten, and I was already wearing a bra.

“They grew relatively quickly. I remember going through the alphabet when I was about 13.

“I started growing quite exponentially when I was 14, because puberty was in full swing at the time. I went from an E to an H.

“I got used to the idea of ​​hiding because I didn’t want people to see it.

“It was also a topic of discussion with the girls and boys at my school and people were grinning and staring down.

“I remember when I told my ‘friends’ my cup size, then a double G size, they said ‘Your name isn’t Anji anymore, your name is An-GG’.”

After going back and forth to her doctors “weekly” begging for a breast reduction, Anji said she was repeatedly told to just lose weight, something she struggled with due to the size of her breasts.

Anji said, “If I lost weight, it wouldn’t solve the problem. Doctors often seem to think that if I lose weight, my breasts will get smaller.

“Most of the time people lose weight they also lose breast size, but not if you have third-degree breast ptosis — the most severe form of sagging you can have.

“I called my doctors in North Wales every week trying to get an appointment, I got one and was discharged.

“I would go back to the doctor, say to myself, ‘I’m going to prescribe going to the gym for six weeks,’ and let me go. I can’t go to the gym because my back hurts every day.

“It’s this cycle of going to the doctor, getting laid off and saying, ‘Oh, the only way we can help you is if you lose weight.’

‘When I came to Lancashire [while studying] I was referred to a diet clinic but then the pandemic happened and the referral stopped because of the lockdown.

“Doctors have been watching me lose weight for years and I definitely think one reason I’m not making it is because I can’t do the exercise.

“I was able to lose some weight. Last year I was on a diet and I lost second place, but I plateaued very quickly.

“I just couldn’t lose weight anymore because I couldn’t do the exercise at the same time.”

After starting birth control five years ago, Anji said it made her gain pounds, which made the size of her breasts worse.

Anji said: “About five years ago I started birth control which resulted in me gaining an extreme amount of weight that I could never really get rid of.

“I’ve been on so many diets, I’ve gone to doctors, they’ve let me go to nutritionists, but nothing has worked.

“A good reason for this is that I am now at a point where my mobility is impaired.

“It was definitely difficult being a performer as we have to dance a lot and move physically.

“My back is now at a point where I can’t even go to work [some days] as I cannot move out of bed and have two walkers.

“Doctors have said it’s not just because of my joints, it’s definitely because of the breasts.

“I went to the doctor to see if there was a hormonal reason my boobs got so big.

“The main one they’ve concluded is gigantomastia, which is an exponential growth of excess breast tissue and is usually caused by hormonal spikes.

“My back is now at a point where I can’t even go to work [some days] as I cannot move out of bed and have two walkers.

“Doctors have said that this is not just a condition of the joints, it is clearly a consequence of the breasts.”

After being “dismissed” numerous times by GPs, Anji, forced to squeeze into a size 20-22 top, has decided to take matters into her own hands and raise funds to perform surgery privately to permit.

Anji said: “This year I’ve been at an all-time low with my back pain, I fear it’s only going to get worse.

“Breast reduction surgery is considered a cosmetic procedure, no matter how hard you try to tell doctors they will always consider it a cosmetic procedure first before it’s a necessity.

“Friends said if I set up a GoFundMe page they would donate and I’ve already had so much support which is absolutely amazing.

“If I were to have surgery it would be life changing, I don’t know life without overly large breasts.

“If I were to have this surgery, it would literally be a weight lifted off my shoulders.

“The idea of ​​not having to use a walking stick, being able to exercise, and not having to take painkillers every day would be weird, but wonderfully weird.”

Anji’s GP practice was contacted for comment but did not respond.

NHS Greater Preston CCG is unable to comment on individual patient cases.

You can donate to Anji’s site here.