“It seems like a little thing, but … it matters so much.”
Tamara Fedczak is a triple negative breast cancer survivor. She underwent several months of chemotherapy and a mastectomy after her diagnosis. While Tamara is so happy to be healthy again, she did feel a little bit incomplete after the surgery. A lot of breast cancer survivors these days are opting to get nipple tattoos — just to restore a sense of normalcy. In Tamara’s case, she said it made her feel like a woman again.
Read More “Today, I get to finish this whole process and get restorative 3D areola nipples tattooed on,” Tamara told SurvivorNet, during a pre-surgery interview at the office of medical tattoo artist Marnie Rustemeyer. “I came a long way, this was just really important to me … this final step will give me confidence, be more complete … it feels like this is the final piece of the puzzle.” Marnie, a thyroid cancer survivor and breast cancer pre-vivor herself, said that her work allows her to give back to women who are just looking to feel whole again. It’s especially fulfilling for her because she’s been through it. “In August of 2013 I was diagnosed with the BRCA gene or breast cancer gene mutation,” Marnie told SurvivorNet. “I chose to have both my breasts and my ovaries removed.” After her mastectomy, she gave up a career on Wall Street and went into medical tattooing. And Tamara is just one of many women Marnie has helped. As for Tamara, she was very pleased with the finished product. “I want everyone who has been through breast cancer to experience this,” she said. “They all deserve to look like they did.”
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