‘It restored my sense of femininity’
MEDICAL tattooing after breast reconstruction or hair loss has also proved life-changing for many people, including Laura Middleton-Hughes, 33.
Laura, who lives in Norwich, has incurable breast cancer and was just 26 when she had her first mastectomy, followed by a second a year later.
She teamed up with Nicky Newman, 33, from Guildford, Surrey, to launch the Instagram account Secondary Sisters (@secondary.sisters), which is about living with secondary breast cancer, and Laura raises awareness on her own account too (@baldbooblessandbeautiful).
“I’d had nipple tattoos on the NHS which weren’t very realistic,” said Laura. “Then Vicky Martin, an acclaimed 3D areola tattoo artist, saw our Insta account and got in touch to say she’d like to talk. She changed my life.
“The care and detail she put into the tattoos, colour matching perfectly, you’d never know they weren’t real.” During the procedure,
Laura didn’t feel much, but her emotions afterwards took her breath away.
She said: “She restored my sense of self and my femininity.
“The difference in how I felt was incredible. Visual perception is huge. If I’m in the gym I don’t feel I have to cover up and if I catch sight of myself in the shower I look like myself.
“Cancer lives with me and being open helps me and I hope helps other people.”
Dr Joanna Livingstone said: “It’s important not to hide from the world and avoid situations due to loss and embarrassment of changes to the body.
“Areola tattooing is a positive addition to compensate for the losses.
“As it can also appear to be beautiful, body image can become a positive consequence, rather than a negative one that impacts on mental health and wellbeing.”