Mary Rich says she is in constant agony from a back problem caused by her 34GG bust and is desperate for breast reduction surgery, but says the NHS has refused to do the op
A petite woman has told how she has been left in crippling pain and unable to work due to her 34GG breasts – but the NHS won’t operate.
Mary Rich, 36, has to rely on universal credit and needs help from her partner Guy Firbank to complete everyday tasks such as dressing herself and showering due to the pain caused by her big bust.
Mary, who is 5ft 2in and size 12, has to pay £45 a time for special bras and she can only stand up for a few hours a day before needing to return to bed to rest her back due to the pressure being placed on her small frame.
The former health assistant is desperate for a breast reduction surgery, but has been told by health chiefs that she does not meet specific criteria for the life-changing op, which costs up to £12,000 privately.
She was previously told that if she lost weight and quit smoking she would be approved, but after re-applying for the surgery in December 2024 with a lower BMI and clean bill of health, she was rejected as she didn’t meet the criteria.
Mary said: “People say ‘I’d pay to have boobs like yours. I’m like, ‘you can have them’ – I am completely debilitated by the pain. I’m only in my 30s but after carrying this weight for over 20 years, my spine has deteriorated so much and my body can’t keep up.
“I’ve always been good at pretending I’m ok because I don’t want to be a burden, but I have to surrender now. I have to spend days at home resting because my spine feels like it’s burning, and I feel like I’m missing out on life.
“My mother and her mother before her both had large breasts and ended up in a wheelchair due to back and spine problems. I’m petrified I’ll end up like them.”
Mary, from Basingstoke, Hampshire, said her breasts began growing rapidly when she hit puberty at 13 and was bullied for her large chest, which hit a double-F cup aged 16.
Cruel playground bullies taunted her with the nickname ‘Saggers’ and she tried to hide her chest with baggy clothes and avoided PE changing rooms whenever possible.
In her 20s she began experiencing back pain as they reached a size double-G, and it became so debilitating that she went to the NHS about a reduction surgery in 2013, where she was told she’d be approved for the surgery if she lost weight and stopped smoking.
She was a size 18 when she first applied after her weight ballooned due to a binge eating disorder as a result of childhood trauma. She was told she’d need to reduce her BMI and stop smoking before she could get her surgery.
But after re-applying for the surgery in December 2024 with a lower BMI and clean bill of health, she was rejected as she didn’t meet new criteria. And she has become unable to work due to the worsening back pain and damage the weight has caused to her spine.
A change in NHS policy in 2024 saw an additional criteria added – “clinically significant history of intertrigo or ulceration” which Mary has never experienced, she claims.
The NHS response said: “Applications are only considered in exceptional circumstances where ALL current policy criteria are fully met As you do not have documented evidence of intertrigo or ulceration unresponsive to treatment, your application is declined.”
Mary has previously struggled with addiction to opioid medications prescribed to manage her pain. By 2017, she was slimmer and stopped smoking, but due to poor mental health she began self-medicating with cannabis rather than pursuing the surgery again.
She said: “My self esteem so low it didn’t feel worth me trying.” She has now got herself back on track health-wise, and weaned herself off the drugs.
She said: “I was taking cannabis to deal with the pain, and trauma from my childhood. I was self-medicating but I stopped that this year, and now the pain is unbearable.
“I stopped working for the NHS in late 2024 with a view to setting up a business as a menstrual cycle coach. But since then I’ve had to take a pause on the business because I don’t have the capacity to help others while I’m going through this.”
She has been seeing a physio but has been told that damage has been done to her spine from the years of pressure on it, she said. She gets daily support from her partner but said if she was without him, she’d be unable to live independently.
She currently relies on £995-per-month Universal Credit and £281-a-fortnight Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), and is awaiting a response after applying for PIP (Personal Independence Payment) too.
Mary has now launched a fundraiser to pay for the surgery privately. She said: “Currently, I can’t afford the surgery privately. The long-term financial impact on the NHS if I become disabled as a result of my breasts would far outweigh the cost of the surgery.
“If not for that policy change in 2024, I would likely have been approved. Now I’m relying on benefits after 20 years of working, and I feel like I’m missing out on my life.”
A spokesperson from NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight said: “While the policy position did not fundamentally change when last updated in 2024, and we cannot comment on individual cases, we would be keen to hear from Mary Rich to understand her experience and the advice she has received over the past 12 years from local NHS services in Hampshire and Isle of Wight.”
Click here to support Mary’s fundraising campaign.
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