Gigantomastia: When the breasts don’t stop growing

rare disease
Gigantomastia – when the breasts won’t stop growing

Normally, women’s breasts develop during puberty and only change size in adulthood with weight gain or loss. This is different for women like Tiktokerin Pamelia J. – she suffers from gigantomastia – enormous breast growth.

Australian Pamelia J. has extremely large breasts. But the breasts of the 27-year-old have not been so big since puberty. She has a rare disease that keeps her breasts growing. On Tiktok, the young woman reports on what life with the disease called gigantomastia looks like.

The 27-year-old Australian was diagnosed in March 2022, according to the “Mirror” report. She had consulted a doctor about back and neck pain. A surgeon eventually diagnosed the rare disease. In just eight months, Pamelia’s breasts went from a J bra to a M cup and 14 centimeters wider. “It’s very uncomfortable – they’re so heavy and I’m in a lot of pain at times,” Pamelia told The Mirror. She also suffers mentally from the large breasts. She shows herself as “Misspamelia” on Tiktok to draw attention to the disease.

In addition to gigantomastia, she also suffers from polycystic ovarian syndrome, a hormonal disorder, and is having it examined to see if this is related to her breast growth. Pamelia J. also works as a model and appears on “Onlyfans”.

Causes of gigantomastia

What causes gigantomastia has not yet been fully clarified scientifically. However, scientists suspect hormonal changes, extreme obesity, drugs such as penicillamine or bucillamine, autoimmune diseases such as lupus or arthritis as possible triggers for the disease. Very few people are affected – only 300 cases have been documented so far.

Breast hypertension, also known as gigantomastia, is an excessive growth of the breast. The breasts of those affected can grow at different rates – in some affected people within a few weeks and in others up to several years. One speaks of gigantomastia when the extra breast tissue makes up more than three percent of the body weight. It can occur during puberty or after pregnancy. But the growth can also occur for no apparent reason, the Cleveland Clinic informs.

Extremely large breasts cause a number of problems

Affected women like Pamelia can suffer greatly from their large breasts. “It was interesting at first to see how much they grew, but lately I’ve become uncomfortable and wish I had normal sized breasts,” the young woman said. It is very difficult to find suitable clothes. She suffers from the looks of others on the street and prefers to stay at home because of her mental health.

Common consequences of extremely large breasts:

The treatment of gigantomastia must be decided on a case-by-case basis and the respective risks found out in the individual medical history. One possibility can be a breast removal or a breast reduction. Pamelia also wants to have a breast reduction. On her Tiktok channel, however, she also speaks of the fear that her breasts could continue to grow after surgery due to her illness, so no date has been set yet.

Sources: Cleveland Clinic, mirrors,Tiktok Misspamelia, Mayo Clinic