Commentary: The lay view

doi:10.1136/bmj.b776

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Tessa Boase

¹London

tessa.boase{at}tiscali.co.uk

If my life had been made unbearable by outsize breasts, and I was finally to undergo the operation leading to their reduction, I think I would be feeling a mixture of anxiety and euphoria as I waited for the anaesthetic. At last, I’d be thinking, life was about to improve immeasurably. No more back ache, chafing, embarrassment, unflattering clothes. Furthest from my mind would be the thought that the surgeons might find cancerous tissue in my breast.

Imagine coming round from the operation: yes, the weight has …