A mother who gained 70lbs eating 'sympathy cakes' after her cancer diagnosis has paid £13,000 to have excess skin removed ahead of her dream wedding. Lucy Wellings, 26, says before undergoing skin removal surgery in April this year, she was dreading her wedding day.
Cancer Diagnosis and Weight Gain
Lucy, from Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, has always been 'curvy,' but following her thyroid cancer diagnosis in April 2018, she put on weight by consuming sympathy gifts and cakes. She went from a size 14 to a size 18 before being told she was cancer-free in January 2020.
By this point, Lucy had developed a binge eating disorder as a way to regain control over her life. She would severely restrict her food intake, which then led to weekly binges where she could eat a large Domino's pizza, garlic bread, wedges, and chicken all by herself.
Turning Point and Weight Loss Journey
It was only when she weighed 17 stone in July 2020 that she decided to try to cut back, but her weight continued to yo-yo for the next few years. When she underwent gastric sleeve surgery in June 2023, she began to see immediate results with her weight loss. Despite slimming down to 10.5 stone by April 2025, Lucy says when she looked in the mirror, it felt like she hadn't lost anything because of the excess skin.
This year, she decided to fly to Lithuania to have the excess skin removed from her neck, back, arms, and thighs, and to have a skin 'apron' cut from her stomach. After going under the knife, Lucy says she is looking forward to her wedding in June 2027.
Struggles with Binge Eating
Lucy explained: 'When you get a serious illness, people want to bring you food and cake to cheer you up. I did gain quite a lot of weight. With my treatment for my cancer, I had five rounds of iodine treatment where I was shut into a room and was radioactive for a few days, so all I could do was sit in the room and watch TV and eat. I had always been curvy and had boobs and a bum, but I really packed it on after having cancer and I then developed a binge eating disorder.'
'I was trying to regain control in my life. I would try to restrict myself all day and then at my very worst, I would sit in my bedroom and order takeaways and the litter would be everywhere. I would sit and physically shove food in even though I was feeling full.'
'The worst it got was the last time I ever did it. I can't remember what takeaway it was, but I remember I ordered a dessert of mini donuts and I was so full and couldn't finish them and I laid on my bed in pain for hours. I would binge at least weekly. I lived in a house with girls, but when I binged, I would eat in my bedroom with the door shut. I feel like when you're bigger, no matter what you're eating, you're being watched.'
'I loved a Domino's, and I would eat a large pizza, garlic bread, wedges, chicken, full-fat Coke, and I would sit in my bedroom and probably down most of it. My weight issues were ongoing for a few more years. But after having my gastric sleeve, I saw results immediately and my weight was dropping fast and it reset my relationship with food.'
Skin Removal Surgery
Lucy flew to Lithuania in January to have the excess skin removed off her arms and then returned three months later for a 360 lower body lift and tummy muscle repair. In total, she says she has had over 11lbs of excess skin removed from her five-foot-four body alongside four litres of liposuction.
Lucy said: 'I knew what the scale said, but I felt like I hadn't lost anything. Some people have paper thin excess skin, but mine was thick and heavy. My confidence was better than before [losing weight], but I still didn't like going clothes shopping. Jeans were mostly okay. Obviously, I had a thick roll when I sat down, but when buying dresses, I had to be more careful with what I chose as if I could see my belly, I wouldn't feel good. I have a B-shaped belly, so there would be a bit at the top but then the excess skin at the bottom would sag over my whole pubic area. It was like a big apron.'
'When I came out of surgery, I looked at my stomach and it was flat. There's no squidgy bit anymore. I can already see a massive difference and when I look in the mirror, I feel confident in myself. I'm wedding dress shopping this year and the dresses I like are elegant and tighter and I feel confident that I can buy one of these now.'
Raising Awareness
Lucy is now raising awareness about going abroad for skin removal surgery. She said: 'Muscle separation and not being able to stand was a daily problem. I'd cook for 20 minutes at night and I'd have backache. You can't put muscles back together without surgery. I would have probably been looking at the price of a house deposit for the surgery I just had done abroad if I had had it done in the UK.'
'Surgery has a stigma and surgery abroad has a stigma too, but if you think it's the right thing for you to do for your confidence and if you're in pain, I'd recommend it. When we take our daughter to do activities in the summer, if we go on something that bounces, I won't have five kilos bouncing up and down with everything that I do. I think being able to stand for longer and carry her around without being in so much pain will be great.'
