Was this woman’s heartfelt facebook post really offensive?

THE SISTER of a woman who went to extraordinary lengths to publicize the plight of breast cancer has called her critics 'gutless” after the mother-of-four posted photos of her naked body post surgery on social media.

WARNING: NUDITY

Beth Whaanga's decision to post pictures of her post surgery body has angered many who felt the pictures were too revealing.

In a disappointing tu of events, Mrs Whaanga was 'unfriended” by more than 100 Facebook friends after posting photos of her naked body post-surgery.

'What gutless people..people have also tried to get it off Facebook..in no way is this picture poographic,” Mrs Whaanga's sister Emma Rayner said.

'It represents the truth about cancer and what measures some women will need to take to survive. I think it's brave that she can show her scars and I think many more women will hopefully check their own body's(sic) every now and then.”

After her chilling diagnosis on her 32nd birthday last year, Beth Whaanga underwent a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction in November. To make matters worse, the mother-of-four then had to undergo a hysterectomy, leaving her body littered with scars.

Beth Whaanga bared her body and scars to show people the ravages of cancer. Picture: Nadia Masot. Source: Facebook

Mrs Whaanga and a photographer friend Nadia Mascot posted the pictorial campaign Under the Red Dress to Facebook on Sunday, in order to highlight the importance of self checks.

The 'breast cancer preventer” - a term she prefers over 'breast cancer survivor” revealed she was 'lucky enough to find these changes before they became aggressive or spread”.

'My life was not in danger, I didn't have to fight. I was very fortunate,” she said.

The photos were reported to Facebook for inappropriate content, but the organisation has since assured her it will not remove the images.

'WARNING: these images are confronting and contain topless material. They are not in anyway meant to be sexual. The aim of this project is to raise awareness for breast cancer. If you find these images offensive please hide them from your feed,” the post reads.

'Each day we walk past people. These individuals appear normal but under their clothing sometimes their bodies tell a different story.

'Nadia Masot and I aim to find others who are willing to participate in our project so that we might show others that cancer effects everyone. The old and the young, age does not matter, self examination is vital. It can happen to you.”

But after the disappointing reaction from her social media sisterhood, Mrs Whaanga's sister Emma Rayner posted her disgust and urged others to show their support. At the time of publishing, Ms Rayner's post has since received close to 135,000 shares.

Beth's sister Emma weighed into the debate on Facebook. Source: Facebook

Taking to NewsCorp yesterday, Mrs Whaanga shrugged off the criticism and said she hopes the photos saved at least one person's life.

Mrs Whaanga and Ms Mascot hope the photos will be a catalyst for other survivors to join in the project.

Mrs Whaanga has since explains the reasons behind the images in more detail. Source: Facebook