A woman who lost 120 kg shared that losing weight saved her life. This is what Bethany looks like now.
Bethany Woodward, 27, could only feel a hard, grape-sized lump in her breast after losing more than half her body weight.
After gastric bypass surgery in July 2019, she dropped to a size 12. In 2021, she was diagnosed with a malignant tumor: stage three triple-negative breast cancer.
The healthcare executive will undergo chemotherapy until February 2024. Bethany encourages others to get tested.
The British woman commented: “This experience has completely changed my way of thinking, and without it, I wouldn’t be the person I am today.” Losing weight is life-changing, but a breast cancer diagnosis is a completely different story. Doctors said that if she had weighed more, she wouldn’t have noticed the lump in her breast. She was scared. I’m so grateful to the NHS for the incredible care I’ve received over the past four years, not just for the chemotherapy.
I’m not completely safe, but nothing will stop me from continuing to fight. I have cancer, but cancer doesn’t control me.
At her most difficult times, Bethany weighed almost 190 kg and wore a UK size 32. After growing tired of being the big girl, she decided to have surgery to finally control her weight.
She underwent a £12,500 gastric bypass at a private hospital in Birmingham. After the successful operation, in December 2021, Bethany weighed 69 kg.
She added: “I’m on my second round of chemotherapy, with 10 more to go, but I hope to be fully recovered by April. Although I can’t eat like I used to, losing weight has saved my life.
I had no idea that losing weight was just the beginning of it all.”
