Yahoo LifestyleWoman posts photos of cancer scars on Facebook, loses 100 friends
Mum-of-four Beth Whaanga had a double mastectomy when she discovered she had the rare BRCA 2 gene
A woman who discovered she has the rare BRCA 2 gene has had a preventative double mastectomy and posted her post-op photos on Facebook.
Beth Whaanga took the brave step to be photographed in her underwear as part of a campaign to raise cancer awareness.
The mother-of-four was shot by photographer Nadia Masot in a series of snaps entitled ‘Under the Red Dress’, which showed the extent of her invasive surgery.
The brutally honest images point out the procedures Beth went through after being diagnosed with breast cancer on her 32nd birthday.
Australian Beth underwent a double mastectomy, breast reconstruction and a total hysterectomy after she was found to have the potentially fatal BRCA 2 gene mutation.
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Like Angelina Jolie before her, Beth made the difficult decision to have both breasts removed when it was discovered that she had major cellular changes in her left breast.
Speaking on her personal Facebook page, the wife and mother rejects the term ‘breast cancer survivor’ in favour of ‘cancer preventer’.
‘I was lucky enough to find these changes before they became aggressive or spread,’ says Beth.
‘My life was not in danger, I didn't have to fight. I was very fortunate.’
‘Of course my mastectomy was necessary it would not have been performed if it was not, with out it my situation would be every different.’
After sharing the results of her photo shoot on Facebook, 103 people unfriended Beth prompting her sister to show her support.
The image has since garnered over 400,000 likes and has been shared over 150,000 times.
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