TATT WILL DO NICELY

Why this 80-year-old has got a tattoo for the first time in her life

CURRUMBIN granny Jan Butterfield had never considered getting a tattoo but at age 80 she has her first – and couldn’t be prouder.

After losing a breast to cancer three years ago, the grandmother-of-two has finally hidden the deep scar across her chest with a rose tattoo.

Mrs Butterfield said she had been “sick to death” of gazing at her scar in the mirror and wanted to do something about it.

Her grown-up children and teenage grandchildren were shocked by her wild idea when she first raised it, but supported her.

“My son actually helped me find the tattoo parlour in the end. His doctor was next door to it and he went in and checked it out for me,” she said. “Now I don’t know if you’ve ever been in a tattoo shop. I sure hadn’t, but this was a real classy operation they were running in Kingscliff.”

A feminine rose now hides the large scar that was on Ms Butterfield’s chest.

“I feel like I may have lost a bit of my femininity but I’ve gained it back with this rose,” she said.

“It’s a strange thing losing what you’ve always had. You take it for granted and when it’s gone you feel like you’re less of a woman in a way.

“But getting this tattoo has made me feel better and now I can love my body.”

Mrs Butterfield said it was worth the two-and-a-half hours of pain. She had been offered a breast operation but had believed she was too old to undergo more surgery.

“I think the rose tattoo has worked wonders and I feel like I have a part of myself back,” she said.

Kingscliff’s Absolute Tattoo artist Zoe Maxwell, who has been inking people for four years, said tattoo therapy was becoming increasingly accepted by seniors, with about three clients a month.

“People who have had a rough past find getting a tattoo really helps them and the thing is, the negative stigmas around tattoos are certainly fading,” Ms Maxwell said.

“In the past this demographic would turn their nose up at the idea but they have become huge customers, especially for scars or getting tattoos to remember loved ones.

“Mrs Butterfield didn’t even have numbing cream and considering her age and her operation, she is one tough bird.”

I FEEL LIKE I MAY HAVE LOST A BIT OF MY FEMININITY BUT I’VE GAINED IT BACK WITH THIS ROSE JAN BUTTERFIELD

Picture: MIKE BATTERHAM Currumbin granny Jan Butterfield covered over a breast cancer scar on her chest with the help of Absolute Tattoo at Kingscliff tattoo artist Zoe Maxwell.