Our Trustees
Odile Wittemans
Co-Chair & Trustee
Nicky King
Co-Chair & Trustee
I was diagnosed in April 2019 with a 7.2cm grade 2 stage 3 lobular breast cancer detected on mammogram, with no palpable lump. I had a mastectomy followed by chemotherapy, radiotherapy, Zometa and Aromatase inhibitor. I knew immediately I did not want reconstruction and requested a double mastectomy. I had to wait 18 months for symmetry surgery, and being flat has been the right choice for me.
Finding Flat Friends, thanks to a local breast cancer support charity, has helped me feel ‘normal’ and find my tribe.
As a retired doctor I was interested in the research FFUK was getting involved with and since 2024 I have been a trustee with the aim for supporting researchers who are looking at areas related to mastectomy without reconstruction.
Ona Riamah
Trustee
I found Flat Friends UK after searching the Internet, as I had been told that I was the only one who wanted to be flat. This made it seem like I was alone in my journey. Finding Flat Friends gave me the confidence to navigate the world and hope for the future. It takes a community of support for anyone to deal with cancer. I have met many people who have positively impacted my physical and mental wellbeing.
I decided to become a trustee to share the experience that there is life after cancer, that it is normal to seek help, and that there is no shame in asking for patient-centered treatment. I hope my involvement with Flat Friends will provide encouragement for anyone dealing with breast cancer.
Carolyn Garritt
Trustee
I found Flat Friends on the day I was told I’d need a mastectomy for an early but aggressive lobular breast cancer that I’d found, quite by accident, after I sprained a pectoral muscle. Finding FFUK, and particularly the Flatter Fashion blog, helped me normalise what I had always imagined would be a really difficult decision. For me, it wasn’t. I was lucky – I knew what I wanted and everyone around me, including my surgeon, was completely supportive. I know it isn’t like that for many women.
I’ve been surrounded by breast cancer, and women with a diagnosis, my whole working life. In 2013 I jumped from a 20 year career in the NHS, managing breast screening services and more latterly a cancer network, to being self employed as a cancer exercise specialist. I’ve worked with hundreds of people with all sorts of cancer, helping them to become stronger and more active. I’m particularly proud of the online community of women weight training after breast cancer that I’ve built.
I’m really pleased to be joining Flat Friends as a trustee and hope to be able to use my experience around health and wellbeing after a cancer diagnosis for the benefit of the charity as a whole.
Our Patrons
Professor Shelley Potter
Patron and Clinical Advisor - PhD FHEA FRCS
I am Professor of Surgical Oncology at Bristol Medical School and Consultant Oncoplastic Breast Surgeon at North Bristol NHS Trust. My research interests focus on improving outcomes for women undergoing breast cancer surgery by generating evidence to support informed choice.
I have led several breast reconstruction studies and shown that the complication rates after surgery can be relatively high and that patients are not always satisfied with results. Reconstruction can be a good option for some women, but increasingly, my patients are choosing to be flat. I passionately believe everyone should be informed about all their surgical options including symmetrising mastectomy so they can decide what option is right for them.
Sometimes healthcare professionals worry that patients may regret their decision to ‘go flat’ but our systematic review of the literature suggests that in fact, women choosing this option are very happy with their decision.
I am delighted to be a Patron of Flat Friends and to actively support choice and equity in access to care.
Professor Dame Lesley Fallowfield
DBE, BSc, D.Phil, F.Med.Sci
I am Director of Sussex Health Outcomes Research & Education in Cancer (SHORE-C), a research group dedicated to exploring the implications of a cancer diagnosis and the benefits and harms of different treatments.
I have worked in breast cancer research for more than 30 years and was author of one of the first studies showing that breast conserving surgery did not prevent the anxiety, depression and sexual difficulties associated with mastectomy.
I am never afraid to challenge orthodoxy through good research and am delighted to be a Patron of Flat Friends.
Lindsey Coulson
Actress
I have been an actress for over 30 years and in that time I have been lucky to have played a wide variety of characters both on stage, television and film.
More recently I played DCI Newman in a new series called ‘The Level’ for ITV, although I’m probably best known for my role as ‘Carol Jackson’ in the BBCs ‘Eastenders’. It’s here that I met Gilly Cant when she advised on the storyline for my character’s double mastectomy, and she helped me understand how important it is for women who decide against reconstruction to be properly supported.
Along with other charities that I support, I am honoured to be a Patron of Flat Friends UK.
Ash Subramanian
BSc (Hons) MBBS (Hons) FRCS (Gen Surg)
I am a consultant oncoplastic breast surgeon based on the south coast of England.
Although I offer reconstruction to my patients, I consider myself a cancer surgeon first and foremost and I’m a strong advocate for patient involvement in decision making. I believe patients should be offered all choices available to them, including prophylactic mastectomy as an equal option to achieving symmetry. Supporting patients through their choices is of paramount importance – living ‘flat’ should not be seen as a stigma.
My research interests focus on the reasons for and barriers to prophylactic mastectomy. Gilly Cant was my patient and through her initial research concept and SHORE-C I have engaged with surgeons and nurses to help investigate this important question.
I am delighted to be involved as a Patron of Flat Friends and spreading their message both nationally and internationally.
Our Advisors
Reesha Armstead
Governance Advisor
Sam Brunsden
Advisor
The opportunity to join the trustees at Flat Friends arose in 2021; five years after my diagnosis with grade 3, multifocal, invasive breast cancer.
I was fortunate to achieve flat symmetry at first surgery and following adjuvant therapies was happy to be able to return quickly to a very full and active life with my three boys.
This choice is not widely available and very rarely discussed at diagnosis. It is usually a patient-initiated conversation and can be met with a measure of incredulity. Flat Friends are partnering research and campaigning for all choices to be fully presented to every breast cancer patient and I am very pleased to be able to continue the momentum and help push the charity’s agenda forward.
Whilst I am a physiotherapist by profession, I have spent the past decade managing a gynaecological oncology practice; negotiating patient pathways and liaising with hospitals and funding bodies.
Sam stepped down as trustee in December 2025 but remains research advisor to Flat Friends.
Founding Chair
Gilly Cant
Founder of Flat Friends
“After my own diagnosis in 2013 and my decision to live flat, finding other women who had chosen the same prompted me to start a group for women to chat. Then finding that many members were denied contralateral symmetrising mastectomy so they could live flat, drove us to formalise Flat Friends UK as a registered charity, so we could work to change surgical options for women, so they would be given a choice for flat symmetry, alongside reconstruction options. Charity status came in 2016 and since then Flat Friends UK has gone from strength to strength and I have been proud to be a part of a strong team of Trustees over the years, who are passionate and pro-active in making changes and supporting women, some of whom we have sadly lost in that time. Heading into our 10th Anniversary, I have felt it is time for me to hand over the reins and step down as a Trustee of the charity, but will remain at its’ very heart in my new role as an Ambassador, which I am extremely proud to do. I will work to raise awareness and organise fund raisers and use my passion and knowledge for a healthy lifestyle after treatment, to continue to support our members.”
Previous Chairs
Sarah Coombes
Chair (from June 22 to March 26)
I was diagnosed with Grade 3 invasive breast cancer in my right breast in December 2014 at the age of 35. I knew instantly that I wanted a bilateral mastectomy without reconstruction for symmetry. Whilst my surgeon was supportive, a remark from a breast care nurse – that I should reconsider my decision to live flat because I would struggle to find nice clothes – inspired me to start my blog ‘Flatter Fashion’ in January 2015, where I shared ideas on which styles suit post-surgery body shapes.
I joined the Flat Friends’ private Facebook group in April 2015 and was a founding trustee when we became a registered charity in August 2016. In 2017 I qualified as a social worker; I am passionate about informed decision-making, person-centred care, and the importance of a good support network.