MORE THAN SKIN DEEP
Tattoos for cancer care
NEARLY 100 people - including a brave nurse - have had heart-shaped ribbon tattoos to raise money for the cancer unit where she was treated.
Supporters queued up outside the Tatw Ddraig Ddu Black Dragon Tattoo in Caernarfon - paying £20 each and raising over £2,000 for the Alaw cancer unit at Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor.
The “Ink for Pink” event for Jill Hesketh was organised by her daughter Sam and her son-in-law Toby Prior, a tattooist at Tatw Ddraig Ddu a fortnight ago. They wanted to hold a positive event for Jill, told in November last year that she had breast cancer.
Jill, 57, of Rhostryfan, Caernarfon, had a tattoo inked on her right wrist. She said: “I had a heart with yellow and lilac ribbons. Toby was great. He said I have good skin to tattoo but this was the first and last.
“It was no worse than getting caught by a bramble.”
Jill had to check with medics before having the tattoo.
Since the event, others have also had similar tattooes and it has proved so popular that it could be held annually.
Jill said: “The Alaw unit has just been expanded and they need more equipment. The money will go towards that.”
She had a mastectomy in January and three months of chemotherapy to treat the disease which has spread to her liver.
A mammogram showed she was clear of cancer but after checking herself Jill found not everything was well and had further investigations.
Trauma and orthopaedic staff nurse Jill said: “Women need to make sure and keep an eye on their own bodies as well as using the normal checks.”
She has had to take time off from work at Ysbyty Gwynedd - and may still face more chemotherapy.
Other fundraising activities will see a sponsored walk up Snowdon involving Jill’s dog Bindi and other pets and walkers on October 2, while a charity fundraising showjumping event ‘Jump for Life’ will take place at Bryn Derw, Brynrefail on October 30. And since September 1, Jill’s niece Rebecca Hesketh has been cycling 2,000 miles from Canada to Mexico.