"Flat and fierce": Israeli breast cancer survivor celebrates scars topless

FILE PHOTO: Eylon Nuphar, an Israeli performing artist who chose not to have her breasts reconstructed after a double mastectomy, poses for a photograph during her interview with Reuters in Tel Aviv, Israel October 21, 2020.REUTERS/Corinna Kern

Shirtless beneath a pink blazer, Eylon Nuphar stands scarred and proud as she poses for the cover of an Israeli women's magazine one month after undergoing a double mastectomy.

Nuphar, 49, an Israeli performing artist, chose not to have her breasts reconstructed after the surgery and hopes her cover shoot for Laisha weekly will inspire other women going through similar trials.

FILE PHOTO: Eylon Nuphar, an Israeli performing artist who chose not to have her breasts reconstructed after a double mastectomy, reacts during her interview with Reuters in Tel Aviv, Israel October 21, 2020. REUTERS/Corinna Kern

"It's a very personal choice. I guess I'm brave enough to do it and carry my scars and love them but I am only brave because I know it will help other women," she said.

Nuphar carries the BRCA gene which is associated with an increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer. At the age of 33 she was first diagnosed with breast cancer and went through chemotherapy, a lumpectomy and radiation.

When the cancer returned 16 years later, Nuphar opted for a double mastectomy, but decided she would not endure further surgery.

Karina Shtotland, editor-in-chief of Israeli women's magazine Laisha, poses for a photograph as she holds up a copy of the magazine with a cover photo of Eylon Nuphar, an Israeli performing artist who chose not to have her breasts reconstructed after a double mastectomy, in Rishon Lezion, Israel October 21, 2020. Picture taken October 21, 2020. REUTERS/Corinna Kern

"This is something women are dealing with all over the world and they are so afraid of not going through reconstruction so they won't have to deal with being so different and with the shame of someone looking or not looking at them, feeling attractive or unattractive," said Nuphar.

"I chose not to do reconstruction, which makes me flat and fierce," said Nuphar.

(Reporting by Lianne Back; Writing by Maayan Lubell; Editing by Jeffrey Heller and Raissa Kasolowsky)

Employees look at a computer screen displaying images from Israeli women's magazine, Laisha's article on Eylon Nuphar, an Israeli performing artist who chose not to have her breasts reconstructed after a double mastectomy, at the magazine's offices in Rishon Lezion, Israel October 21, 2020. Picture taken October 21, 2020. REUTERS/Corinna Kern

Eylon Nuphar, an Israeli performing artist who chose not to have her breasts reconstructed after a double mastectomy, gestures during her interview with Reuters in Tel Aviv, Israel October 21, 2020. Picture taken October 21, 2020. REUTERS/Corinna Kern