A breast cancer diagnosis was one of the most devastating news Gillian Gia Curry-Williams has ever received, but having faced cancer diagnoses in her family before, and an advocate for others who have battled the insidious disease, she was decisive and resolute in her course of treatment - a bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction - because her insurance would cover it. A week outside the one-year anniversary of the removal of her breasts, Curry-Williams takes pride in being a "breastless beauty".
Curry-Williams opted to not undergo breast reconstruction after learning of the difficulties that could become problematic. She instead made the decision to have a "flat closure" - extra fat, skin and other tissue are removed in the breast area and the remaining tissues tightened and smoothed out to flatten the chest wall.
"I don't miss my breasts," said Curry-Williams. "Not having breasts doesn't make me look less feminine."
Curry-Williams found a lump in her breast on March 30, 2022, and on August 15, had surgery to remove both breasts.
She recalls having a good cry at her diagnosis, but the inner fortitude that she's known for, roared to the forefront.
"I believe in God, and one day the Holy Spirit checked me, like what reconstruction."
In the doctor's office she was given a stack of papers - she looked at the papers and looked at her daughter Heidi Munroe who had accompanied her. The doctor's next words to her she said was to take his foolish advice and to not have reconstruction. He spoke to her of the infections that could happen and having to go through removal, as well as the skin and chest damage that could occur, but Curry-Williams said she heard him but had already made her decision.
"I was strong throughout the process. I had that one good cry early on, but I knew what I was going to do."
She also nixed the idea of wearing prosthesis.
"Wearing the bra also wasn't a part of my process," for Curry-Williams, a fashion designer. "I sew for women who have had breast cancer and have had a breast removed, or both breasts removed, and I see how those prosthesis don't stay in place, and they are constantly fixing, or they're lopsided."
Her decision was to sew clothes for the body she would have moving forward - a body without breasts.
"My concern was the clothes I had already. I found that it was so easy to put dart in, or take it in under the arms. I now wear blouses that may look kind of full, or I have shoulder pads that I wear which balances it out. And most people don't even know I don't have breasts unless I tell them."
While she opted to remain flat, Curry-Williams said everyone woman who has gone through a breast cancer diagnosis and removal has to make the decision for themselves whether to do reconstruction or flat.
"I can't tell women what to do, but from experiences talking to them, and one young lady in particular who said to me she was going to take her lump out and do chemotherapy, and in less than a year, her breasts were hard, and she died. You have to really think about what you want for your life."
Curry-Williams said as she spoke to the young lady before she died, that she told her she regretted not having a double mastectomy.
Prior to Curry-Williams' surgery, the plan was for her to have her breasts casted, but she ran out of time. Instead, she purchased a canvas and colorful paint and the day before her surgery, she painted her nipples and made imprints on the canvas, and has that painting she made for her memories.
One year post surgery and sans breasts, Curry-Williams, designer at Remilda Rose Designs, is living her best stylish life. And is an example for women who want to continue to be stylish after breast removal surgery, and if they opt to not have reconstruction or wear a prosthesis.
"An esthetic flat closure may not be [every woman's] choice, but if you are thinking about it, I can tell you styling your body is not difficult at all."
She has taken in some of her blouses under the arm, for others she has inserted shoulder pads to give herself a lift. Most of her dresses she wore before surgery, she simply extended the dart, if there was one, for those that did not have a dart, she added one and stitched it up to the shoulder which she said any seamstress or someone who does alterations can assist with.
Curry-Williams is also the founder of a fashion show for a cause that honors cancer fighters and survivors and which this year is being staged under the theme, "A New Perspective, Faith and Hope Waiting For The Cure" which is scheduled for November 12.
Every person honored during the event is kitted out from head to toe.
For Curry-Williams, the fashion show for a cause is personal. Her late father, Donald Curry, was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. She took note of what he went through and how her mother, Letitia Curry - his main caregiver - dealt with him.
Curry-Williams also took notice of how her father was at treatment sessions, which she would attend with him, which gave her the opportunity to take in how other people received treatment. What she witnessed made her wonder what she could do to assist as a designer. She, at first, came up with a fabric she dubbed the "Fabric of Hope" - a print made up of some of the colors associated with the various types of cancer. That was followed with the idea of staging a fashion show to honor individuals who were going through treatment or had battled cancer, during which Curry-Williams would debut designs in the "Hope Fabric" but at the same time, dress the cancer survivors/fighters in her original designs, giving them a turn in the spotlight on the runway.
"Dress them up and make them feel good ... make them feel special," said Curry-Williams. "And yes, you may not have any ovaries, you may not have a breast ... you may not have breasts, because you may have taken both off, you may have had cancer in the lungs or the rectum, but the fact is you are still handsome, you're still beautiful, you're still worthy."
Participating in the event, she said the honorees get to share their individual stories and what they went through, which she said allows others to see that cancer is survivable.
For Curry-Williams, the bottom line is she knows her father would be proud of what she's doing, and the fact that she has continued with the event even though he's passed.
Prior to his death, the designer said her father had expressed his pride in her thinking of the idea of a fashion show for a cause, and she was able to host her first show before he died, even though he was too sick to attend.
Each female being honored gets a dress designed by Curry-Williams; males receive a suit.
During the event, models also take to the runway in designs by Curry-Williams in the "Fabric of Hope."
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