12-year-old girl in Palawan suffers from overgrown breasts that weigh nearly 20kg

A 12-year-old girl in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, is suffering from excessive breast growth. What is the cause for this?

According to an episode of “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho” on Sunday, Yumi’s breasts have grown so big, they reach her belly button.

While girls her age wear baby bras, Yumi's had to use a size 40 DDD Cup. Because of the rarity of her bra size, she's only able to buy only three pairs from a thrift store.

Yumi shared that she's struggled with shoulder and back pain, especially when she needs to run. She's only 4’9” tall but her breasts weigh nearly 20 kilograms.

Because of her condition, Yumi just locks herself inside their house to avoid people staring at her.

According to her aunt Grace, Yumi’s breasts began growing when she started menstruating last year.

Every time Yumi got her period, her breasts would grow bigger.

At first, they bought baby bras for Yumi, but she immediately outgrew them.

Before moving in with her aunt in Puerto Princesa, Yumi lived in Taytay, Palawan. She said she wants to go back home but she's scared she might be bullied.

Yumi narrates that one time when a strange man told her cousin of his plans to court her because of her large breasts. She got scared and started to cry.

“Ayaw ko po kasing maranasan ’yung naranasan ni Mama. ’Yung mama ko po kasi, nakaranas na siya na minamanyak siya ng ibang lalaki. Ayaw ko po na magawa sa akin iyon.”

[I don’t want to experience what my mom did. My mom was disrespected by other men. I don’t want to experience that.]

Yumi and her mother Maricel have not seen each other for almost half a year now because of the community quarantine.

The last time they saw each other, Maricel noticed Yumi’s breasts were bigger than her sister’s, but didn’t think much of it.

When she saw a recent photo of Yumi, however, she was shocked.

According to Maricel, she's afraid that her daughter would go through the same experiences she had with rude people and perverts.

People shouldn’t laugh, harm or taunt Yumi over her condition.

According to a lawyer, doing so would violate the Bawal Bastos Law or Safe Spaces Act and Anti-Bullying Law of 2013. While causing harm, insulting other people online, or saying hurtful words was a violation of the Cybercrime Act, which could be penalized with imprisonment.

“Sana po huwag po silang manyak ng babae kasi pare-parehas lang naman po tayong mga tao. Pareho lang po ang isa’t isa,” Yumi said.

[I hope they would stop disrespecting women because we’re humans too.]

In early June, Yumi was able to go to a specialist, where she was diagnosed with juvenile gigantomastia.

According to the doctor, this condition entails the aggressive growth of the flesh.

The only solution, she said, was an operation that would cost P600,000 – P1,000,000.

Some of the options included a breast reduction surgery or a subcutaneous mastectomy, where everything would be removed, to be followed by artificial implants.

Yumi shared that once she gets better, she could reach her dreams of being a beauty queen, of running, dancing, and playing with other children.

As a teacher, however, Maricel is unsure if they could even afford the surgery. She earns a net pay of around P6,000.

If she took out a loan, she didn’t know how she would feed her family.

Upon learning about her condition, the KMJS team sent financial assistance to the family, plus special undergarments for Yumi.

Maricel asked the public to take Yumi’s condition seriously and not ridicule or bully her daughter

To help Yumi get through this difficult time, her mother paid her a surprise visit.

Now reunited with Yumi, Maricel could only wish for her daughter to live a normal life again and enjoy her childhood. – Kaela Malig/RC, GMA News

For those who want to help Yumi, please deposit to:
UNION BANK
MARICEL BALLARTA
ACCOUNT NUMBER: 109423745250