A Scottish woman has been diagnosed with a rare condition that causes her breasts to grow uncontrollably. She said she spent more than a decade searching for answers before receiving her diagnosis, and that the disease affected nearly every aspect of her daily life.
What is macromastia?
Summer Robert, 28, was diagnosed with macromastia when she was 25. She is 4 feet 11 inches tall and currently wears an R cup bra. In the past year alone, she’s gone up 11 bra sizes, a pattern her doctor says is caused by hormonal changes.
“Basically, I went through a growth spurt,” Robert said, adding that the rapid changes were triggered by hormones. Doctors told her the dramatic changes in her body shape over the past year were caused by hormonal changes common to many women in their 20s, although her reaction was much more pronounced. Beyond that, she said, little is known medically about the condition.
Robert first noticed something different when she was 8 years old, when she started wearing a C-cup bra. For the next 17 years, she went without a diagnosis.
Robert Xia
“I started going to doctors when I was 14 or 13 and no one diagnosed me. No one told me I had this condition,” she said. “They all say it’s puberty. They all say I have to lose weight. It’s ridiculous.”
She said the medical community’s limited understanding of macromastia contributed to the delay. She recalls that when she was finally diagnosed, her doctor “printed out a Wikipedia page and gave me the Wikipedia page.”
Hypersexuality is a real problem
Robert, who grew up in Scotland, said she faced almost constant issues with hypersexualization – catcalls, breaking school dress codes and social stigma. She started creating content on OnlyFans about two years ago as an adult, a decision she credits with helping her embrace her body.
Still, the condition poses significant physical challenges. Finding clothes has always been a hindrance due to the disproportionate chest and waist. She said almost everything she wears has to be “super stretchy.”
“Nine times out of 10, it still doesn’t fit,” she said. “It’s just everyday things that you think are easy, but are actually very difficult.”
She said Robert wears a back brace for nearly every physical activity, whether it’s long walks or doing housework. Joining a gym wasn’t a realistic option, she added.
Doctor: Breast reduction is only temporary relief
Robert said she had consulted experts about breast reduction surgery, but doctors told her the procedure would only provide temporary relief.
“We spoke with a breast reduction specialist and he told me they had just come back. He said, ‘If this is really causing you a lot of stress, you can definitely get a breast reduction,'” she said.
She expects to have surgery eventually but said she is in no rush to make a decision.
“[The doctor] Say, ‘I suggest you actually cut the price. “They only come back when you feel like your body can’t take it anymore, but not super, super fast.”
Scots woman with rare breast disease says doctors have dismissed her for more than a decade