Woman claims 34GG bust stops her from working – because the NHS refuses to offer her a breast reduction
A woman with natural double-G cup breasts says chronic back pain has left her unable to work and reliant on benefits – after the NHS rejected her for reduction surgery following a policy change.
Mary Rich, 36, said her breasts began growing rapidly when she hit puberty at 13 and reached a double-F cup by the age of 16.
Growing up in Basingstoke, Hampshire, she was bullied at school for her chest and given the nickname ‘Saggers’.
By her early 20s, as her breasts reached a double-G cup, Mary began suffering severe back pain – so debilitating that in 2013, aged 24, she approached the NHS about breast-reduction surgery.
She said she was told she would be eligible if she lost weight and stopped smoking.
Mary has since done both – but says the damage caused by carrying the weight of her breasts for more than 20 years has now left her unable to work.
After re-applying for surgery in December 2024 with a lower BMI and a clean bill of health, she was rejected again after failing to meet new criteria introduced last year.
The updated NHS policy requires patients to show a ‘clinically significant history of intertrigo or ulceration’ – a type of damage to the skin that Mary says she has never experienced.
Mary Rich, 36, says chronic back pain has left her unable to work and reliant on benefits – after the NHS rejected her for breast reduction surgery following a policy change
She now relies on Universal Credit and requires daily help from her partner, Guy Firbank, 45, to carry out basic tasks such as dressing and showering
Growing up in Basingstoke, Hampshire, she was bullied at school for her chest and given the nickname ‘Saggers’
She now relies on Universal Credit and requires daily help from her partner, Guy Firbank, 45, to carry out basic tasks such as dressing and showering.
Unable to afford private surgery – which costs between £8,000 and £12,000 – she fears her condition will continue to deteriorate.
Mary, who spent 20 years working in healthcare as a community carer and healthcare assistant, 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.’
Unable to afford private surgery – which costs between £8,000 and £12,000 – she fears her condition will continue to deteriorate
She added: ‘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.’
Throughout her teenage years, Mary said she tried to hide her chest with baggy clothes and avoided PE changing rooms whenever possible.
Despite having a slim size eight to 12 frame in her early 20s, the pain worsened – and she later developed a binge-eating disorder linked to childhood trauma.
By the time she first applied for surgery, she was a size 18 and was told she would need to reduce her BMI and quit smoking before being approved.
In the years that followed, she struggled with addiction to opioid painkillers prescribed to manage her symptoms.
By 2017, she had lost weight and stopped smoking, but says poor mental health meant she turned to cannabis rather than re-pursuing surgery.
Mary said: ‘My self-esteem was so low it didn’t feel worth me trying.’
By the time she first applied for surgery, she was a size 18 and was told she would need to reduce her BMI and quit smoking before being approved
Her most recent application for surgery was rejected under the revised policy, with the NHS stating: ‘Applications are only considered in exceptional circumstances’
She later weaned herself off drugs and cannabis, but says the pain has since become unbearable.
She stopped working for the NHS in late 2024 with plans to set up a business as a menstrual cycle coach – but has since had to pause those plans.
She said: ‘I don’t have the capacity to help others while I’m going through this.’
Mary says physiotherapy has confirmed lasting spinal damage from years of pressure, and she can only stand for a few hours a day before needing to lie down.
Bras cost her £45 each, and without her partner’s daily support she says she would be unable to live independently.
She currently receives £995 a month in Universal Credit and £281 a fortnight in Employment and Support Allowance, and is awaiting a decision on her application for Personal Independence Payment.
Her most recent application for surgery was rejected under the revised policy, with the NHS stating: ‘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 says she has instead been offered opioid medication and physiotherapy.
She is now fundraising to pay for the surgery privately.
She said: ‘Currently, I can’t afford the surgery. 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 for 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.’
