mastectomy tattoo Archives

December 12, 2023December 14, 2023

“Tattoos can mark a milestone moment, symbolise a new beginning or celebrate cherished memories in a person’s life,” interview with tattooist Tanya Buxton

Tanya Buxton started her career as a traditional tattooist, but she realised the power of tattooing extended beyond simple designs on skin. She now creates hyper realistic nipple tattoos for breast cancer survivors – and they look so real they often get removed from social media. We had a chat with Tanya, who tattoos from her welcoming studio Paradise in Cheltenham, to find out more...

Tanya Buxton at Paradise Tattoo Studio in Cheltenham

Can you remember the moment you fell in love with tattoos?

I’ve been obsessed with tattooing for as long as I can remember. I was fascinated by my father’s tattoos as a child. Tattooing called to my soul – it was something I always wanted to pursue from a very young age. The rich cultural history and creative freedom that surround this incredible art form is something I’ve always been drawn to.

Tell is a bit about your journey…

I started out as a traditional tattoo artist but expanding my skills into cosmetic and medical tattooing was something I always wanted to do – right from the beginning of my career. I’ve always loved helping people feel good about themselves. From very early on in my tattooing career, I realised how powerful tattooing can be, how it can uplift and elevate people on so many levels and for so many reasons.

“Once I began offering cosmetic tattoo services, it opened me up to a whole new world of people who can benefit from tattooing.”

That’s what led me to expand my skills further into medical tattooing. I’ve seen first-hand the impact tattoos have on people, from decorating a scar with a beautiful piece of art to recreating a realistic 3D nipple after mastectomy surgery, tattoos can help heal a person inside and out.

Tattoos can mark a milestone moment, symbolise a new beginning or celebrate cherished memories in a person’s life; they enable people to reclaim their bodies and transform their skin into something they love, helping them to move forward, build self-esteem and boost body confidence.

To me, 3D areola-nipple tattooing represents the true power of tattooing. These small tattoos – quite literally – change a person’s life. It is difficult to put into words just how wonderful this form of tattooing is.

They help people reclaim their body back after surgery, illness or trauma, allowing people to move forward in their lives feeling more ‘complete’ and like themselves.

They allow people to feel confident in their skin again, they help people to look in the mirror and love their bodies. These tattoos not only impact a person’s physical wellbeing, but also their emotional wellbeing.

“To be able to give someone a piece of themselves back through an art form that I love is a gift that is difficult to describe.”

Seeing a person look at themselves in the mirror for the first time after their tattoos are complete – whether it’s a 3D areola-nipple tattoo or a mastectomy tattoo – is such a magical moment to be part of. You can see the confidence radiate from within, it’s just beautiful.

We spotted you tattooing a woman’s breast at Brighton Tattoo Convention this year, which was absolutely incredible and so brave – can you tell us a bit more about this…

I tattooed a few breast cancer survivors at the Brighton Tattoo Convention this year, my ladies wanted to have their tattoos done there to help spread the word on this wonderful form of tattooing and share with the public how empowering tattooing can be. They all also wanted to help raise awareness for my breast cancer charity, the Mastectomy Tattooing Alliance, which was also at Brighton.

Both myself and the MTA will be at Brighton in February 2024, too.

Amazing, we will of course be there too. So what’s next for you?

I’m hoping that next year will be a big year for Paradise. We’re moving to a larger premises in Cheltenham, which we are all really excited about. The bigger studio will allow us to expand our team and offer more of these wonderful tattoos.

I will also be launching a training academy, which has been created to help professional tattoo artists develop and advance their skills into more specialised areas of tattooing, such as areola tattooing.

I plan to continue growing the Mastectomy Tattooing Alliance charity and raise more awareness of our cause and the positive impact of these life-changing tattoos. We recently added two artists from the US to our directory and I would love to add more artists from around the world and take our charity work global.

The Mastectomy Tattooing Alliance is a UK charity founded by Tanya in 2021. The MTA is dedicated to supporting the breast cancer community in their healing journey by making these empowering tattoos more accessible to people and striving to help improve the information and education available for this wonderful form of tattooing. Tanya is always looking to add more skilled areola tattoo artists and mastectomy tattoo artists to the MTA directory, so please do get in touch with her. You can donate via the website, www.mastectomytattooingalliance.org.

For more inspiring tattoo stories read: Tattoos to mark transformative moments.

October 3, 2019

Empowering mastectomy tattoo by Lianne Moule

Back in August, we spotted this absolutely stunning mastectomy tattoo by Lianne Moule, who works at Immortal Ink in Chelmsford, after she shared it on Instagram. So we got in touch with Lianne to find out more about the process, we’re sharing the story here to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

“Around four years ago, Liz was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer: sarcoma. The type and size of the cancer dictated that Liz’s only real option was a mastectomy with delayed reconstruction. The process must have taken a huge amount of strength and courage but I’m so grateful she allowed me to be a small part of her inspiring journey.

“Having never had a tattoo in her life, I am awe-inspired that she found me to request a mastectomy cover-up. Liz emailed the studio and told us about her situation and what she wanted to do. When I met Liz for her first consultation, she was very nervous. But she bravely told me her story. When she was diagnosed and told she would lose her breast, she was overrun by emotions. She even said to the consultant that she would rather die than lose her breast. She was aware that even though it seemed a dramatic reaction, her emotions were all over the place and she genuinely felt that. All of a sudden, she was aware of the fact that she felt her breasts gave her femininity, she questioned whether or not she would be able to love her body afterwards.

“Liz told me that throughout every stage of her diagnosis, surgery and aftercare, she was given so much support by the different departments – every team would explain what would be happening to her body and what the options were for her in the future. She decided to go ahead with a nipple graft onto the reconstructed breast, but at this point in the surgeries, she still didn’t know what she wanted to do with her body.

“When Liz was looking at the option of getting tattooed nipples, she came across some pictures of some flowers over mastectomy scars. Liz told me many times that she would never have had a tattoo if it hadn’t been for this journey she has been through. When Liz’s breast was taken away, it was replaced with what she calls ‘a lump of flesh’ – she said it never felt like her breast. With these feelings, Liz said she wanted to make it ‘her own’. Having a beautiful picture on it would make it finally hers, after having many operations without choice, she could finally make a decision to do what she wanted with it.

“Every time I tattoo a breast cancer survivor, it is always about reclaiming their body. It’s the decision that they get to finally make about their own body, to get closure of their experience. Having their bodies cut and poked and prodded and tested without really having a choice, it’s empowering to finally make a decision.

“Liz’s tattoo is one of my favourite pieces of artwork, she looks beautiful and I really hope she feels it. It’s detailed and colourful and I forever hope it gives her confidence.”

Research shows that one in seven women in the UK will develop breast cancer at some stage in their lifetime. October marks Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It is so so important to check your breasts (if you need help with this head to coppafeel.org).

February 19, 2018February 19, 2018

Lucy Thompson: Breast Cancer Survivors & Tattoos

27-year-old tattooist Lucy Thompson based in at Skinflicted in Keighley, Yorkshire, has travelled to the US to learn how to create realistic three-dimensional tattooed nipples for women who have had a mastectomy…

Last year Lucy travelled to Texas to be the first UK artist to receive specialist training in the art of tattooing realistic areolas on breast cancer patients. It was her aim to shake up the industry and illustrate to breast cancer survivors that “they deserve better” when it comes to post op cosmetic reconstruction.

My Auntie had a mastectomy and got a tattoo done in hospital which has now faded to almost nothing so it needs re-doing – why is a surgeon even attempting to tattoo?- the experts should stick to what they know. This just isn’t good enough for a cancer surviver.

Lucy trained with The House of A.R.T (Areola Restorative Tattooing) in Texas, who have pioneered a unique way to give the illusion of a permanent and three-dimensional nipple opposed to other methods. Having learnt this skill Lucy is now offering this restorative service to mastectomy clients locally, the first being her auntie.

Lucy Thompson
Lucy, who’s been a tattoo artist for the last four years explains what influenced her to help cancer survivors:

After the trauma of going through cancer, I want to make the restorative period as stress free as possible and help women feel whole again. Why should they have to return for future treatment when it can be done in one process? Women are accepting second best as there has never been another option, but not many cosmetic tattooers have experience or have dealt with scarred tissue, especially tissue that has been through chemotherapy or has radiation burns or stretch marks from skin grafts – this is a huge concern. A tattoo artist understands the skin in a different way. We want to achieve painterly results and have the techniques to work with the skin and its delicacies to get the best possible results – the quality is of utmost importance.

Lucy is also offering tattoos to any trans/non-binary clients who have had surgery and unsuccessful nipple grafts. Her long-term plan is to open a clinic specifically for post medical treatment. She also plans to run drop in clinics throughout the country by travelling the UK visiting other studios, to enable others further afield than Yorkshire to benefit from the skills she has learnt.

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August 18, 2016August 1, 2017

“My own mark” – mastectomy tattoos

Diane de Jesús, 35, London, is owner of Piece O Cake Nutrition, a nutrition communications consulting and advisor for Personal Ink (P.ink) – an organisation to connect breast cancer survivors with tattoo artists. In this interview, Diane shares her own experience of breast cancer and how getting a tattoo made her feel about her mastectomy.

Photo of Diane by Lydia Perez DeJesus @momdetresshoots

Can you tell us about your cancer diagnosis and treatment. At 29 years old, I was diagnosed with DCIS, ductal carcinoma in situ, which is the earliest stage of breast cancer. I was told that while my life was not in immediate danger, the cancerous cells would have to be removed. Thus far, the medical community is unable to determine which DCIS cells will become invasive cancer and when. This combined with my very young age meant that we couldn’t just take a “watch and wait” approach. Also, my disease was so extensive, filling nearly my entire left breast. This meant I would have to have a mastectomy to remove the entire breast.

How did you feel about your body after the mastectomy? I was thrilled to have such a good prognosis and to have such great doctors who provided me with excellent mastectomy and (silicone implant) reconstruction results. After recovery, I was grateful to very quickly dive back into my normal life: working by day, going to school at night (working toward my registered dietitian certification) and exercising regularly. I thought I was adjusting just fine. It wasn’t actually until after I got my tattoo that I realised how much I had been through emotionally and how I had been avoiding looking at my chest in the mirror. I had always done everything in my power to care for my health and my body had always reflected that. Suddenly, my body had betrayed me.

roxx tattoo

By Roxx, owner of 2 Spirit Tattoo, Los Angeles

Did you consider other options before deciding to get tattooed? No. I knew that I wanted to get a tattoo very early on, possibly even before having my mastectomy. While I researched what to expect from my surgeries and recovery, I came across stories and photos of women who were post-mastectomy and had chosen to cover their scars with tattoos. I wasn’t so much drawn to the idea of covering my own scar but of finding some way to encapsulate and honour all that my husband and I had been through and also to put my own mark, of my own choosing, on my body.

What made you decide to get that tattoo design? In some mastectomy cases, the nipple can be preserved but in most, the nipple and areola are removed with the rest of the breast tissue. This was the case for me. While I was discussing reconstruction options with my plastic surgeon, I was offered the option of nipple reconstruction many times. The idea of having a fake nipple constructed from the skin on my chest—a nipple that would never feel anything, respond to touch or temperature, or release breastmilk—just never resonated with me. Neither did the idea of having the image of a nipple and areola (even a fancy 3D one) tattooed onto my chest. What did resonate with me was something that Geralyn Lucas did, and wrote about, in her memoir of her experience with breast cancer. Geralyn also had a mastectomy with implant reconstruction but no nipple reconstruction. Instead, Geralyn had a tattoo placed on her chest, near her scar. As soon as I read about this, I knew it was what I needed to do and as I came across images of other women who’d done the same, I was motivated to find a way to make it happen. Of course, since I’d never been tattooed before, I didn’t know the first thing about selecting an artist, studio or design. I also didn’t realise the cost of tattoos.

Photo by Gigi Stoll, Gigi Stoll Photography, New York

Did it transform what you thought about your body? Getting my mastectomy tattoo helped me to close the door on that chapter and finally move on. I was tattooed in October of 2013, three years to the day since I was told that cancerous cells had been found in my breast. After getting the tattoo, I could look in the mirror without averting my eyes from the sight of my chest. I found myself feeling more confident. I was myself again.

How do you feel about it now? I continue to be so grateful for my tattoo and for the woman who tattooed me: Roxx, owner of 2Spirit Tattoo in L.A. I also love that this tattoo continues to provide me with the opportunity to discuss breast cancer and reconstruction options with other breast cancer survivors and their support networks.

What advice would you give to other women who have breast cancer? Every single breast cancer experience is unique. It is overwhelming to receive a cancer diagnosis of any kind but I think that every person diagnosed can benefit from finding a way to listen to her (or his) body and making the decisions that are best for her/him. Also, it is unfortunate, but at some point you may find you really must be your own advocate. You will work with so many different individuals and sectors of the healthcare community who may have the best intentions of providing you with the best advice but this advice may not always be the advice that is best for you. This is easier done with a good support system. Having a spouse, family member or friend to come along to appointments or help with research, paperwork, phone calls, etc. is invaluable.

Can you give us some background about P.ink day… what it is and how others can get involved. P.ink (Personal Ink) is an organisation dedicated to educating breast cancer survivors about mastectomy tattoos as an alternative healing option, and connecting survivors with experienced tattoo artists who can help. One way we do this is through P.ink Day, an annual all-volunteer effort to connect tattoo artists and survivors for a day of healing with tattoos. What started with just 10 artists and 10 survivors at Saved Tattoo in Brooklyn, New York, for our first P.ink Day in 2013 has grown into a true grassroots movement, with 46 artists, 48 survivors and hundreds of volunteers across 13 locations in North America, as of October 2015. In total, we’ve facilitated nearly 100 incredible mastectomy tattoos via P.ink Day. P.ink Day occurs every 10 October and 2016 will be P.ink Day’s fourth year.

To learn more, visit the Personal Ink website at p-ink.org

February 6, 2015February 15, 2015

Healing tattoos – double mastectomy tattoo

This tattoo is simply stunning. Healing, restorative, beautiful… and we loved spotting it being shared on Facebook, with lots of positive comments.

The artist is David Allen, who is based in Chicago. Read more about him and view his work at allentattoo.com

The response to this piece is incredible. Tattooing is a beautiful and absolutely viable option for concealing or altering scars. When coupled with an artist you’ve researched and feel connected to… taking the reigns and regaining some sort of control can be empowering. There is healing in this!

Said Allen on his Facebook page.