YOU NEED TO KNOW
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A Florida woman, who once wore a G-Cup bra, underwent a dramatic breast reduction after having a baby
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Cameron “Cam” Light opens up about her decision — and why she has no regrets — in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE
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“I didn’t realize how much I had normalized discomfort over the years,” says the 30-year-old.
A Florida woman, who once wore a G-Cup bra, underwent a dramatic breast reduction. She documented the entire journey on Instagram, and now she’s talking about her decision — and why she has no regrets.
Cameron “Cam” Light says she first started experiencing problems with her breasts when she was a teenager. “I started realizing my discomfort in high school,” she tells PEOPLE exclusively.
“Until college, I was overwhelmed by their weight. I clearly remember crying with my then boyfriend-now-husband of 18 years in the dorm bathroom for the first time, explaining how uncomfortable I was,” she continues. “They were heavy, they hurt, and they didn’t feel like mine. I wanted a reduction so bad, even then.”
Light, 30, says she had her first breast reduction consultation in her early 20s, but several factors prevented her from having the surgery at the time – including the high cost of the procedure, and the fact that she was told she might not be able to breastfeed the children afterwards.
“I didn’t want to wait, but there was a lot of work against me,” she remembers. “The cost was prohibitive most of the time. I’m still not sure if I want kids. Also, the younger you are when you have a reduction, the more likely you are to need another.”
Light says she and her husband finally decided they wanted children, and she eventually gave birth to a boy. At that point, however, the discomfort caused by her breasts only got worse.
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In a candid post on Instagram, Light revealed that her bra size was 42 G.
“They had only gotten heavier and lower from pregnancy and nursing, weighing well over 10 pounds and hanging near my belly,” she tells PEOPLE.
Light, who was studying to become a midwife at the time, tells PEOPLE that he still had a long way to go before she would ultimately have the operation, however.
“I kept dreaming of the day I finished school so I could have the operation. I was also weighing a potential second pregnancy before that, but in the end we decided we were done having children,” she remembers.
Finally, years after her initial consultation, Light began researching surgeons and eventually found the best one.
“She was smart, kind and supportive of my goals,” Light says, describing her surgeon, Dr. Emily Jiles. “She knew how much I wanted to go young and gave me her best suggestions on how to get there. There was never any pressure to make a decision over another, and as a provider, that gave me so much confidence to move forward.”
Courtesy of Cameron Light
Light — who also owns Amaze Games, a small business rescue room and board game parlor — had the surgery in January, “after 12 very long years.”
She says she decided to pay for the procedure out of pocket instead of trying to go through her insurance, as she wanted the most control over the outcome. (“I wanted to go as small as possible,” she explained on Instagram.)
“Insurance companies have a hand in the procedures they allow and the amounts they take. I didn’t want some random person to tell me what I could and couldn’t do with a permanent decision for my body, so I saved the money and did it alone,” she continues to explain to PEOPLE.
Light says she has no regrets about her decision to have the operation. “I feel more like myself than I have in many, many years. The relief was immediate,” she explains, adding that she immediately lost 5 lbs. from her chest.
“I snore less, my heartburn is completely gone, and I don’t find myself gasping for air while standing because the weight is finally off my lungs and diaphragm. I still have a long way to go to correct the damage the weight has done to my body, but I’m looking forward to that journey,” adds Light.
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“I didn’t realize how much discomfort I had normalized over the years,” she continues. “They were an ever-present annoyance that I had gotten used to…the constant adjusting, planning clothes around what could support the weight, crossing my arms in public so I wouldn’t be looked at, wearing multiple bras just to feel some semblance of support while I’m working and exercising…the list goes on. It had all become so normal to me.”
As for what advice Light would give to others considering breast reduction surgery? She recommends meeting with multiple providers until someone finds the perfect fit.
“I wanted a doctor who listened to me and didn’t try to change my mind or make me go bigger than I wanted to stay ‘proportional’. Reductions are life-changing surgeries — it shouldn’t be something you do on a whim with people you don’t trust,” she says.
Light adds that it’s okay to “grief” an old body, even if someone is 100% confident that they want the surgery.
“I always loved my body, even when it didn’t match what I needed anymore. I celebrated it with my friends a few nights before the operation, I did a boob-voyage party and burned bras in my yard,” she remembers.
Courtesy of Cameron Light
Light also says she worked with a therapist before undergoing the surgery to make sure the transition goes as smoothly as possible.
“I’ve only felt pure joy ever since I woke up after the surgery, and I credit a lot of that to the emotional work I did before the surgery,” she tells PEOPLE.
Read the original article on People