Mom of Two Embraces Life With One Breast After Cancer

When Aarthi Ayyar-Biddle found a lump behind her nipple one morning, her life changed in weeks. The 45-year-old Canberra mom was diagnosed with invasive breast cancer and started chemotherapy within three weeks.

After chemo shrank her tumor, doctors told Aarthi she needed a full mastectomy on her right breast. Her first question surprised them: could she remove both breasts to avoid future risk?

Her medical team recommended keeping the healthy breast. Aarthi had tested negative for the BRCA gene mutation, which dramatically increases cancer risk. Removing both breasts would mean higher infection risk and longer recovery, delaying crucial radiation treatment.

The decision felt right, but Aarthi faced another choice. Nearly one third of Australian women who have mastectomies choose breast reconstruction. Aarthi decided against it.

She had worked hard to rebuild strength after a difficult cesarean birth. The thought of flap surgery, which takes tissue from other body parts to rebuild a breast, didn't appeal to her. Doctors warned she faced a 50 percent chance of needing additional surgeries due to radiation complications.

"Every surgery I have from here on needs to be with the purpose of either saving or prolonging my life," Aarthi decided. Her husband's support made the choice easier, reminding her she'd always be beautiful to him.

Growing up as a South Asian woman, Aarthi had absorbed rigid ideals about the female body. Social media showed her two common paths: reconstruction or going completely flat. She chose neither, embracing asymmetry instead.

Sunny's Take

Aarthi wanted to model positive body image for her two teenage sons. She found unexpected benefits in keeping one breast, from physical sensation during intimacy to practical help when wearing a prosthesis.

"Having one breast really feels like the new normal," she says. Her choice challenges the pressure many cancer survivors feel to restore symmetry or embrace a specific version of recovery.

Aarthi's openness about her "uniboober" journey reminds us that healing looks different for everyone. By honoring what felt right for her body, she's showing her sons and others that confidence comes from self-acceptance, not conformity.

Her story proves that sometimes the bravest choice is the one that honors your own truth.