Woman Fakes Breast Cancer to Raise Money for Plastic Surgery

In an effort to raise funds for her breast augmentation surgery, a 27-year-old Arizona woman lied to her family, friends, and co-workers saying she had breast cancer and needed double mastectomy and breast reconstruction.

Jami Lynn Toler, who worked at a local hospice, has been charged with fraud and theft, police authorities said.

Toler’s former co-workers said she solicited money by making up stories and even crying in front of her boss to persuade them to give her “funds” for her cancer treatments and reconstructive breast surgery. 

According to police reports, Toler’s boss helped her raised funds amounting to more than $8,000 since September.  Meanwhile, one co-worker said “people were scammed simply because of their good intentions and sincerity to help the suspect.”

Aside from Toler’s friends and co-workers, she also deceived her mother and grandmother who also gave a portion of their savings to help the suspect.  

Meanwhile, Toler’s co-workers and friends became suspicious when one doctor offered to treat her cancer for free but she declined.  She also paid a cosmetic plastic surgery in cash, according to police reports.

When investigators checked Toler’s medical records, they found that she was not suffering from breast cancer.

This is not the first time a woman faked breast cancer to raise funds for her breast augmentation surgery.  A few years ago, Trista Joy Lathern from Texas lied about having the disease and raised about $10,000.

To make her story believable, the suspect has even shaved her head to look like she was receiving chemotherapy.

Asian Breast Augmentation

About 307,000 breast augmentation surgeries were performed in 2011, making it the most popular cosmetic plastic surgery during the period.

In a 2011 survey released by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, breast augmentation was one of the top three cosmetic surgeries performed on Asian-Americans, which has always been the trend. 

Because Asian women often have a smaller frame than Caucasians, the general rule is to limit the implant size particularly if the aim is to create a natural appearance instead of an operated look.

Small- to moderate-sized breast implants are particularly ideal when dealing with patients who have little breast tissue to prevent or at least minimize the risk of visible wrinkling and rippling. 

Nowadays, the trend is the natural look which can be easily achieved by using smaller breast implants.  In fact, many plastic surgeons have noticed that most of their recent patients asked for implants filled between 300 and 350 cubic centimeter or cc which is often enough to add volume without giving a heavy top look.

Aside from the implant size, Asian women should also consider the implant profile or the projection off the chest wall.  As mentioned earlier, they generally have a smaller frame and chest “band” than Caucasians so these certain anatomical features should be taken into consideration.

In general, patients with a small chest “band” should use high-profile implants which offer more forward projection and smaller base, which is important to avoid the unnatural look. 

On the other hand, petite patients in general should avoid low-profile implants which have a bigger base but offer less projection as they can occupy too much space on the chest band, resulting to “bursting” appearance.

To date, a growing number of women choose silicone breast implant over the saline version because it provides a more natural look and feel with its viscous filling.  Meanwhile, the US Food and Drug Administration has recently approved the fifth generation of silicone implant which has a more cohesive gel than its predecessor, in addition to being form-stable.

But still, salineimplants, which are filled with a sterile mixture of salt and water, can provide a natural look and feel as long as there is an ample amount of breast tissue and fat; but if this is not the case, unnatural contour and higher risk of wrinkling are usually the results.

But despite some concerns, saline implants are still endorsed due to their surgical flexibility and are easy to replace during a revision breast augmentation.

Fat Grafting and Breast Augmentation

This year, it has been estimated that nearly half a million American women will undergo breastaugmentation either to improve their appearance or reconstruct their breasts following cancer surgery or mastectomy.

Breast augmentation is traditionally conducted by placing saline or silicone breast implants inside the “pocket.”  Meanwhile, these devices have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration due to their “reasonable safety,” although patients should bear in mind that there is always a risk of rejection and other complications.

Fortunately, there is an alternative to breast implants.  Called fat grafting, the technique involves collecting fats from one donor site (e.g., abdomen and thighs) and then introducing them to another area of the body; and because no synthetic implant is used, patients should no longer be concerned with rejection and allergic reaction.

However, patients should always remember that fat grafting has its own limits.  For instance, the method is not applicable to those with limited amount of body fats; and it can only increase the breast one cup larger from its original size.

Another consideration to make is the result is somewhat unpredictable given the fact that some of the transferred fats will be reabsorbed by the body; and anything that remains a year after the procedure would likely be permanent.

One way to increase the survival rate of the fats is to purify them; this means the blood, connective tissue, and other impurities are removed.  With this method, about 60 to 80 percent of the transferred fats can survive in their new location.

But to further increase the survival rate of the fats, some doctors recommend using bra-like suction cones for three weeks prior to the procedure.  With this technique, they believe that the tension will create enough room for the grafted fats to flourish, although no extensive study can back up this claim.

After purifying the fats, they are carefully injected to the breasts; this process may take more than once to promote high survival rate of the fatty tissues.

Fat grafting that is used as a replacement for breast augmentation is like hitting two birds with one stone.  Not only the patients enjoy bigger and fuller bust, also the areas which have been liposuctioned such as abdomen and thighs will appear slimmer, resulting to a curvier body.

For three weeks, patients are usually required to wear a compression garment around the liposuctioned area; in this way, the skin will heal faster and closer to the body, thereby preventing sagging and improving the body’s contour.