KAREN Peake is on a mission to help women who have had mastectomies by offering free areola reconstruction.

But she has found herself repeatedly falling foul of big social media and internet providers, with Facebook, Instagram and Google all blocking her accounts, suspending her and removing images of her work.

The medical cosmetic specialist from Netley, who runs a clinic in Chandlers Ford, is hugely frustrated as all she wants to do is get the message out to women that this treatment, which creates the illusion of a three-dimensional nipple for women who have had breast reconstruction surgery following a mastectomy, is available and that they can have it for free.

And she says that the actions of these online giants is not only affecting her ability to reach out to women who she could help, but is also adversely affecting the rest of her business, leaving her unable to contact paying clients.

Karen's grandmother, June Jones, died of cancer in 2011, leaving Karen with some money.

Karen had always been close to her grandmother and wanted to do something meaningful with the legacy.

Although June did not die of breast cancer, it had always been an important cause to her, and Karen decided to train in areola reconstruction.

 

Karen Peake

She was advised that the could struggle to run a business providing only this service, so initially trained in cosmetic procedures, intending to follow up with further training.

But her plans were derailed when her top of the range medical tattoo machine was stolen.

Amazingly, after a story was run in the Echo, a reader came forward and offered her the £5,000 she needed to replace the machine, as long as she promised to complete her training in medical cosmetic treatments.

Since completing her training three and a half years ago, Karen founded The June Jones Areola Foundation, and has provided free reconstruction treatments to almost 190 women who have had single or double mastectomies following a breast cancer diagnosis and breast reconstruction.

But she is certain that far more women would come forward if she could get the message out that the treatment is available and is free.

"What's incredibly frustrating is that a huge number of women are affected by breast cancer, but this treatment, and the whole industry, is being driven under the table by companies like Facebook and Instagram blocking accounts and removing pictures, when it doesn't need to me," she says.

"It's not even a photo of a nipple. It's coloured and shaded to look as if it's three-dimensional. It's a piece of art.

"I think people are actually reporting the images, rather than it being down to an algorithm. I get a notice saying that the image isn't up to their community standards. I wish they would look at the image and see that they are not pornographic.

"It's a bit soul destroying, because I know that this is a really valuable way of reaching out to women who might want this treatment," adds Karen, who runs the KP Centre of Excellence in Chandlers Ford.

"It's really important to show the images. Everything I do in my job is visual and I can post photos of eyebrows and lips without any problem, but with the one thing that really needs attention, the images are being removed.

"It's so important to get the message out there that this can be done. A lot of women don't even know that it's available. They may have had their breast reconstruction done 20 years ago, when this technology wasn't available."

Karen says that many of her clients have said that the treatment has made them feel whole again.

"With the ladies I see, 70 per cent have flat skin on their breast, so there is no nipple reconstruction as such," she says.

"I can make the nipple look as if it's protruding. Instead of the extra surgery involved in a nipple reconstruction, they can have this instead."

Karen has seen a huge range of women, aged between 26 and 78, some of whom had their breast reconstruction surgery years earlier.

"The oldest woman I saw said 'is it worth me getting this done?," says Karen.

"It broke my heart. I said 'it's always worth you feeling good.' After she'd had the procedure, she welled up. It was incredible to be able to do that."

Karen says that it's important for her to provide the treatment for free which, she adds, is effectively subsidised by her successful cosmetic treatment business.

"A lot of these ladies have been off work for a long time and they don't necessarily have the funds to pay for something like this," she says.

"If I did this in a private hospital, people pay £395 per session, and it takes two sessions.

"I do it for the ladies who have battled cancer and made it through. My nan battled cancer and sadly didn't make it through, so I do this in her memory.

"If she was still here she would love what I do and would tell all her friends that I tattoo boobies.

"I can't explain the level of satisfaction that I get from doing this. When I finish, the women are euphoric, and so am I."

Karen is desperate to find a way to reach out to more women, and has made a Facebook video of her work to dodge it being blocked which, within 48 hours, had already been viewed more than 10,000 times and had prompted an inbox full of messages from women enquiring about the procedure.

"It makes me wonder how many women we haven't got through to, because the images keep getting deleted," she says.

"I'm helping women to put their lives back together. For lots of them, this is the thing that lets them move on and close that chapter on their lives. They say it makes them feel complete."

* For more information, visit www.karenpeakespmu.co.uk or call 07720 285822.