Healing tattoos
Houston spa owner Gloria Juarez creates areolas for breast cancer survivors who have had mastectomies
Candace Robinson can’t feel anything when Gloria Juarez takes the tattoo needle to her chest.
There’s no pain as Juarez drags the tool filled with light brown ink in a circular motion on Robinson’s reconstructed breast. This is the second touch-up for her new areolas at You Glo Med Spa in Houston.
Loss of sensation is common for people who undergo mastectomies because nerves are typically cut during the procedure, according BreastCancer.org. But Robinson hasn’t given up hope that she may regain feeling.
And if she doesn’t, that’s OK. She has nipples again, thanks to Juarez’s free service.
“At first, I was a little bothered by it, but I tried to look at the positive side,” Robinson said. “I’ve had a great support system from my family, husband and friends, who have been a blessing to me and helped me keep positivity through this healing process.”
Robinson was diagnosed with Stage 2 ductile carcinoma in situ — or CIS — in February, during her first mammogram at age 40. Two months later, she underwent a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction, a surgery that took nine hours.
It was like getting hit in the face with a brick, the mother of two explained.
“To have your first mammogram and receive a call two days later that I need to come back?” Robinson said. “I kept thinking that we just celebrated this fabulous 40th birthday. I was physically fit, healthy and worked out at CrossFit. The diagnosis came, and all that crumbled down.”
Robinson’s return to a semblance of normalcy started with the reconstruction of her breasts through what is referred to as “flap surgery,” which is when fat from other parts of the body, like the abdomen, is used to reconstruct and reshape the breast mound, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Months later, she heard about Juarez’s areola tattooing service for breast cancer survivors. Juarez, an expert in cosmetic surgical procedures, Botox and fillers, has been in the spa business for 18 years and has owned her own facility for two years.
Juarez said she felt a higher calling to provide the free service one day a month to women who have limited options.
“They deserve this,” Juarez said. “When you’re blessed, you should bless others. You put out in the universe what you want to get back from it.”
A perfectionist, Juarez implores some of her patients to return for tattoo touch-ups. She has changed her style to give the tattoos a more realistic, almost 3D appearance, with different color inks and tattoo strokes.
Last year, Houston Methodist performed Houston’s first in-hospital 3D nipple and areola tattoo procedure on breast cancer survivor Pamela Harvey. Every step, from mastectomy to reconstruction to tattooing, was done under the direction of her oncology team.
The procedure garnered a lot of interest from patients going through breast reconstruction at Methodist’s The Woodlands’ Institute for Reconstructive Surgery, as well as women going through similar treatment at hospitals across the country. But it’s still not a common practice.
Doctors typically refer their patients to private tattoo shops or spas for the tattoos, Juarez said.
While Robinson will never quite get used to the loss of sensation, she prefers the smaller size of her reconstructed breasts and how she looks in clothing. And more importantly, she knows her family is behind her.
“My husband was so supportive,” she said. “The first thing out of his mouth was, ‘They can take them. We need you here.’ ”