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.