Women get their bodies inked for many different reasons. For some women it is self expression through art. For some women it is a tool to record a part of their lives or history. And for many other women, it is a way to try to repair and heal themselves after having survived breast cancer.

For those who have had breast cancer, the battle to remove the cancer and live is the first battle. The second battle is to repair the breasts from the mastectomy and restore the woman's self confidence. To look daily upon the scars or to see the reconstructed breast not having an areola and nipple is a constant reminder of the cancers battle ground. But getting inked is changing that.

Many women who have had a mastectomy are turning to tattooist to transform the scars and in some cases the newly flat chest into beauty and works of art. Some women chose to have their breasts adorned with flowers, beautiful patterns of fancy lines and swirls, birds in flight, or perhaps a lovely scene. When they look into the mirror they now see a work of art and not what they lost.

While I was looking through the online photos, one thing I noticed in common with these women was the ability to stand in front of the camera with no modesty or shame. My first thought was they can because they have been through so much, and have dealt with many doctors and nurses examining them. But then I noticed a sparkle in some of their eyes and realized that these breast cancer survivors are incredibly strong women. They have been to hell and back and have a real sense of appreciation surrounding life. These beautiful tattoos are reflections of the beauty and strength within each woman.

And there are some women who have not gone the picturesque route, but went for the realism version instead. This would consist with having nipples and areolas tattooed onto the new breast. It is quite incredible what can be done now through the art of tattooing. One man named Vinnie Myers began assisting doctors to make the breast implant have a more complete visual appeal. After a woman had her breast reconstructed, the doctor would send her to Vinnie Myers to have the final touches of a nipple and areola inked onto her new breast. Because there is such a high demand, the Myers family are now specializing in this area of tattooing.

Because I do not want to re-blog other people’s blogs, here are the links to more information and photos of women's breast / chest tattoos.