Tattoo Update

On April 6th, I will get my first tattoo. Over the years, I've been intrigued by tattoos, and even open to them. I just never felt connected to a particular image or symbol that I wanted on my body for the rest of my life. 

Now, I find myself in a position where a tattoo is not only a statement, but a reclaiming, a redefining and a healing of my body and my soul. 

A lot of women (but definitely not all) who have had a mastectomy undergo reconstruction. And one of the things that we have to face is the nipple situation. A reconstructed breast doesn't have a nipple. This is added later, either created by a plastic surgeon or a tattoo artist. There are 3-D nipple tattoos that look quite natural and are very popular. 

For me though, there are a few things going on. First, I have one natural breast and nipple and one reconstructed breast (no nipple). So, it would be challenging to create a symmetrical nipple that has the matching skin tone to my real nipple. But to be honest, I never even got that far. Because I don't feel like my reconstructed breast is a breast at all.

In my mind, I definitely do not need a nipple. It's been almost two years since my mastectomy and reconstruction, and I'm just barely getting reconnected to this part of my body. I'm not sure whether this will ever feel like a breast to me. (So, hint: no nipple tattoo for me.)

My tattoo artist is Kristy Quinones at Black and Blue Tattoo in San Francisco. She is working with my inspirations to create the perfect design for me. The artistic elements are particular to my breast cancer experience, and at the same time transcend that journey and speak to my life as a whole. I can hardly wait. 

* Photo Credits: all photos are from p.ink/personal ink Pinterest boards https://www.pinterest.com/personalink/

Boob Ink

I'm planning my mastectomy tattoo. Some of you might be surprised by this. Here's how it happened. 

I met a lovely friend, a fellow breast cancer survivor who came to look at some shoes I was selling. She didn't buy the shoes, but we found we have some common ground in life. Different shoes but similar path. She recently had her mastectomy tattoo done by a P.ink artist in San Francisco. P.ink stands for Personal Ink and provides tattoo ideas and artist info to breast cancer survivors. https://www.pinterest.com/personalink/

My new friend inspired me to start thinking about a new phase of my healing process. I've gone through surgeries, treatments and they've left their marks on my body. I've had reconstruction of my left breast (although it doesn't feel like a breast anymore to me), and I've sat with it the way it is for over a year. I really don't want to do a nipple construction (see above comment about not feeling like this is a breast), and haven't thought much about body art. Until now. 

I am just starting out in my process. First I looked at bunches of mastectomy tattoos and could easily point out what I don't want. No offense at all to other women's choices. It's so personal. But some of the art and placement just doesn't appeal to me. 

Slowly, images starting coming to me. Things that have special meaning to my particular transformation, ignited by a breast cancer diagnosis. I'm collecting inspirations on my Pinterest board here: http://pinterest.com/karencroos/body-art/

Do you have a tattoo? What inspired you to do body art?