For Ellyn Winters-Robinson, getting the information she had breast most cancers was “crippling.”
“You just don’t think this would ever happen to you. I was healthy,” she stated. “I couldn’t breathe. I felt like I’ve been punched in the stomach, and that all the air had been sucked out of my lungs.”
In January, the Cambridge, Ont. woman discovered a lump in her left breast whereas doing a self-examine within the bathtub. She stated she instantly went to the physician and acquired a mammogram carried out.
“They could tell right away I have three tumours in my left breast, and they could see from the radiology. There was something called spiculation, they’re growing out towards each other, so it was clear indication that they [the lumps] were cancer.”
She underwent 4 rounds of chemotherapy and was informed she wanted to have a single mastectomy, noting that the surgical steerage was to depart the unaffected breast alone.
However, Winters-Robinson determined to do a double mastectomy.
Ellyn Winters-Robinson says she’s pleased with her physique and took these pictures to honour her journey. (Submitted)
“For me, it was just easier to take both,” she stated. “I didn’t want to be harnessed to a prosthesis all my life. Women will either look lopsided, or they’re going have to wear a prosthesis.”
Instead of getting breast implants, Winters-Robinson determined to go “flat.”
Ellyn Winters-Robinson hopes her story evokes others to advocate for themselves. (Submitted)
“The assumption in the medical community and the presumption is that all women want to reconstruct — they want Barbie back together again — and I chose to stay flat,” she stated.
“What is concerning to me is that the medical community doesn’t present flat as an option. So when you sit down with a doctor, a doctor will often say ‘here you can do implants,’ or you can do what they call a DIEP flap, which is they use your own tissue. They don’t typically present flat.”
She stated she now feels empowered in her new physique and desires to make use of her story to encourage different girls.
Winters-Robinson is urging girls to commonly verify their breasts by way of a self-examination or mammograms. She additionally stated it’s vital for individuals to advocate for his or her well being.
“I feel like I got this fire that’s lit under me now. I want to make a difference, share my story, help other women not be afraid, not be ashamed.”