Suzie found a lump in her breast. The odd question her surgeon asked next sent her on a five-year mission

It was hard for Suzie Betts not to fear the worst when she found a lump in her right breast at age 48.

A breast cancer surgeon agreed it was suspicious and was in the middle of ordering an ultrasound, biopsy and other tests when she asked the question that has haunted Betts for the past five years.

"Have you ever received a breast injury?"

Betts didn't know how to reply at first. She didn't even know what those words meant.

READ MORE: 'It is what it is': Kyle Sandilands shares health update

Described as any incident that damages the breast tissue, breast injuries are actually a common but under-reported issue affecting countless women around the world, be they professional athletes or girls trying netball for the first time.

At the time of the injury, a woman may experience pain, swelling or bruising, but the long-term effects of breast injuries can be more extreme.

One of the most common is fat necrosis, wherein healthy breast tissue can die off and be replaced by a cyst or scar tissue, which may feel like a lump.

When Betts first felt it in her own breast, she worried it might be cancer. It's a common experience for women who have sustained breast injuries without knowing the risks.

"I had to have a biopsy, I had surgery in both my right and left breast to find out I didn't have breast cancer," she tells 9honey.

View gallery

From the pitch to the pool: The 'power couples' of Aussie sport

Instead she was told it was fat necrosis, likely the result of a few "knocks to the boobs" when she played tennis and netball as a young woman. Betts couldn't believe it.

The most confronting part was when her surgeon told her, "If your breasts were protected, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

But unlike the widely available plastic cups and boxes designed for men to protect their genitals while playing sport, there didn't seem to be an option on the market to protect women's breasts.

"No man would go onto the cricket pitch without wearing one," Betts says.

"Now imagine that being a woman and playing cricket. They don't wear any breast protection. They wear every other form of padding, but not anything for their breasts."

After her own scare, Betts was determined to change that.

Breast injuries are most common among female athletes, especially those in contact sports like rugby and AFL, though they can happen to anyone.

A 2019 study of elite Australian female athletes in more than 40 sports found 36 per cent had experienced breast injuries, and a 2020 study of female AFL and rugby players found 58 per cent had experienced a breast injury.

Further studies found 26 per cent of women and girls playing AFL at a community level and 40 per cent of those playing rugby at a community level had also experienced breast injuries, proving it's not just the elite athletes at risk.

READ MORE: 'Too much pressure': Guy Pearce's surprising admission

So why haven't we heard about this issue before? Because most women don't report them.

Less than 10 per cent of female athletes report their injuries to coaches or medical staff according to a 2018 study, meaning up to 90 per cent of breast injuries go unreported and untreated.

Women often don't speak up about breast injuries due to embarrassment but that can leave them ignorant to the long-term health concerns.

WATCH: Australian breakthrough offers new hope for breast cancer patients

Breast injuries can lead to fat necrosis and scarring, asymmetry, and abnormal breast development if the injury is sustained around puberty.

They can also impact player performance: 21 per cent of elite female athletes felt their breast injuries affected their sporting ability according to the 2019 study, and almost half of female contact football players felt the same according to the 2020 study.

The more Betts learned about breast injuries, the more she feared for her own basketball-loving daughters.

"They're really trying to promote girls participation in sports that were male dominated originally," she says.

"But they're treating us like we're we're basically just smaller versions of men."

Betts didn't want the next generation of women to play sport unaware and unprotected and face the same scare she did, so in 2020 she launched Boob Armour.

They're lightweight polyethylene inserts designed to sit inside a sports bra and encapsulate each breast, providing impact protection and reducing the risk of breast injuries and their long-term effects.

"Anything else that had been on the market was [made from] some sort of foam or padding, which is not absorbing the impact," Betts added.

She's also been on a mission to educate women and girls on breast injuries and how to protect themselves, though it's been a long and at times frustrating campaign.

"It's been a lot harder than I ever, ever thought it would be for people to adapt to wearing it. People are very resistant to change," she admits.

Some female AFLW and rugby players she spoke to had been binding their breasts for years and weren't interested in the inserts.

Others assumed if they'd survived long enough without Boob Armour, they didn't need it now.

READ MORE: Queen Mary spotted shopping at popular Tasmanian markets

Betts also ran into a new challenge when international sports brand Under Armour threatened legal action over the name, forcing Boob Armour to begin the long and costly process of rebranding.

Despite the setbacks, Betts is determined to keep going until girls and women all over Australia adopt breast protection and see it as just as important as a good sports bra or a pair of shin pads.

And her hard work is being recognised: Betts was the Victorian recipient of the 2025 Australian Awards for Excellence in Women's Leadership.

Earlier this month she had her third breast surgery to investigate another suspicious lump and she's spent thousands of dollars on mammograms, ultrasounds and MRIs over the years just to keep an eye on the fat necrosis in her breasts from injuries sustained years ago.

It's not the future she wants for her own daughters, or any girl for that matter.

"For a lot of us older women it is too late, but we really want to stop this epidemic ... it's just about getting the word out there and making sure that girls are protected."

FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.