79. Navigating Betrayal & Belonging Post Mastectomy & Breast Implant Illness │ Dr. Amanda Savage Brown

Whose Body Is It

In 2006, Amanda's doctors told her that her silicone breast implants were a completely safe, permanent solution to change to her silhouette after breastfeeding. She looked down and saw ‘ski-slopes,’ and when she compared herself to other women, she felt she came up short. Her implants were cold, stiff, and eventually began leaking toxins inside her body. As her symptoms worsened, she discovered that her doctors did not have the data to back up claims that her breast implants were perfectly safe, or that her mysterious, autoimmune reactions were coincidental.

Amanda is now a psychotherapist and author of Busting Free, a comprehensive guide to physical and psychological wellbeing for women at any stage of the breast explant process. She works with women on healing the beliefs that lead us to question our value, allowing us to be manipulated by predatory marketing. Breasts are not just about beauty and self-esteem, they stand in for our self-conception as women and as mothers. That’s also why breast removal is pushed so hard on women who dis-identify with their female bodies. We explore how cosmetic surgery, an industry dominated by male surgeons, works to support the sexualization and objectification of women. We also dive deep into the appetitive effect, and the illusion of ‘informed consent.’ Amanda also exposes the conveyor belt from breast cancer to breast reconstruction, and the epidemic of women who experience breast implant illness after being told that breast cancer was the worst fate they could face. Even if you’ve never had breasts implants, you’ll relate to the discussion of the desire to belong based on the shape and size of our bodies.

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