Free tattoos “instead of the chest”

Mother diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer gets tattoos free of charge for women who have had mastectomy.

Since 2005, a 39-year-old woman, Beth Fairchild, who was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer, or metastatic cancer in May 2014, has tattooed hundreds of women who have undergone mastectomies instead of breasts. She hopes that her clients will be able to “feel like they were before.”.

In addition, the tattoo artist does realistic nipple tattoos. “When clients look in the mirror and see something that resembles their old breasts, it’s worth it,” she adds. “The women I work with usually start crying because it’s a very emotional experience.”.

Fairchild became a tattoo artist at age 19 and received her first tattoo, the Japanese kanji symbol for “mother,” a year earlier at age 18.

Her mother is a breast cancer survivor who refused to recover from a mastectomy. In fact, it was the mother’s incident that inspired Beth to start getting nipple tattoos..

“I looked at my mother and said to myself: ‘I can fix this, make her breasts appear natural,’ says Fairchild, a mother of two 18-year-old daughters. “I saw a real need for this.”.

Beth, a resident of Greensboro, North Carolina, has since met hundreds of women across the country at five tattoo parlors, where she has been creating art in addition to creating very realistic nipple tattoos..

“The doctors are not tattoo artists, but I just have a feeling that it will look more realistic and better this way,” she explains. “Seeing a client’s reaction to her tattoo is so touching.”.

But in May 2014, Fairchild began to feel tired and bloated – and she knew it was inevitable (her mother and grandmother also had breast cancer).

“I was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer,” says Fairchild, who works with Story Half Told (an organization dedicated to supporting people with breast cancer) to spread awareness about the disease. “Both my mom and my grandmother survived their cancer, but I can’t survive mine.”.

So she decided to make the most of her time and continued her mission to help women feel comfortable in their own bodies. Fairchild, who chose not to have nipple tattoos herself, tattooed women even while undergoing chemotherapy.

One such client is Nancy Sklencar, 48, a resident of Cherry Hill, New Jersey..

In 2005, Sklencar was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent her complete mastectomy. After receiving chemotherapy the following year, she decided to reduce the risk of a recurrence by removing the other breast. In 2008, she added permanent implants to both breasts..

“I never had nipple tattoos because I was worried that I would not be happy with them,” says Sklenkar. “I love tattoos, but I just never liked to think that if I decided to get tattoos at some point in my life, then later I could regret that I could get better tattoos.”.

But after seeing what kind of nipple tattoos Fairchild does, she decided to take a chance. In June 2016, Sklenkar met with a tattoo artist in Philadelphia to get a tattoo, and the result exceeded her expectations..

“I will appreciate this magnificent piece of art created on my body for as long as I live,” she says. “Beth not only put her talent into this work, but also a part of herself that will live in me and others to whom she devoted herself and her time.”.

Prepared by: viduf (Krasilnikov Stanislav Innokentyevich)