Procedure is one of the most popular with women, says new report

Jul 5, 2012 19:41 GMT  ·  By

There are more women suffering from physical and emotional pain because of their large breasts than we know, says a new ABC News piece. Two of them, twin sisters, open up about years of relentless bullying and humiliation because of their ample 40G bosom.

Until a couple of weeks ago, 42-year-old twins Tanesha and Tiwan Sweet could hardly walk down the street without drawing the stares and comments of passers-by.

They had 40G breasts and were not happy with them. On the contrary, they considered them the bane of their life, because they dictated everything from their fashion style to their lifestyle.

For a very long time, the sisters refused to even consider going under the knife because they assumed they could not afford the surgery.

They had no idea their insurance would cover it because of the kind of pain they were in on a daily basis.

“I used to work in a nursing home and a lot of the older men groped at me and touched me. I always went to work wearing two bras and a sweat top, and I would never take it off, even if it was 90 degrees out,” Tanesha says.

The one place they most dreaded to be seen at was, of course, the beach where, no matter how covered up they were, people would stare shamelessly.

“We were just walking along and people were staring, and we've even had cars stop, look and whisper while they're pointing at us,” Tanesha says.

The breast reduction procedure costs between $5,000 (€4,024.4) and $8,000 (€6,439), but the cost can be partly supported by the health care insurance company in case there is also physical pain involved.

In the case of the twins, there was – and plenty of it.

Dr. Julius Few, a plastic surgeon at the Few Institute for Plastic Surgery in Chicago, tells ABC that women with such large breasts often experience back pain and even pain in the breasts themselves.

Other issues may also arise, like intertrigo.

“It's a rash that can occur between the breasts and the upper belly or in the crease under the breasts. It can get infected and form little ulcerations and things like that,” Dr. Few explains.

In 2011, the breast reduction surgery was the 8th most demanded procedure, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery notes. About 120,000 had it done in that time span.