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Facebook backs down over breast cancer photos
29 May 2009Social networking site Facebook backed down after removing pictures of a woman who had undergone surgery for breast cancer.
Sharon Adams, 45, from Slough, posted photographs of herself after she had a mastectomy.
She said on her Facebook page: "I am putting my pictures on here to hopefully raise awareness of breast cancer, women should check themselves weekly for any changes to their breasts.
"It doesn't mean if you feel a lump that it is cancer, but if it is the sooner it's diagnosed the better. After having a mastectomy you can have reconstruction if wanted.
"I will be posting pictures of myself on here as I go through each stage. I'm choosing to have my other breast removed as a precaution in the near future after the chemotherapy. I may or may not have reconstruction, I'm not sure yet."
The removal of the photographs sparked a campaign to have them reinstated.
Organiser Tracey Lang said she started the group because her aunt died from cancer at the age of 42, and one of her oldest friends has only a year to live because of the disease.
She said: "I thought it was brilliant what she was doing, raising breast cancer awareness is very important to me.
"I applaud Sharon for what she is doing, it should never have been removed from Facebook in the first place. I'm glad that they had a rethink."
A message from spokesman Simon Axten has been posted on the group's page, explaining that a mistake had been made and that Miss Adams was "encouraged" to replace the photos.
He said: "We've investigated this further and determined that we made a mistake in removing these photos. Our User Operations team reviews thousands of reported photos a day and may occasionally remove something that doesn't actually violate our policies. This is what happened here. We apologise for the mistake and encourage Sharon to upload these photos again if she so chooses."
The photos are now back on Facebook after the site realised the error around a week ago.
