CancerWarrior10 is a woman in her late 30s with a tattoo on her forearm. Her tattoo has an amber-coloured cancer ribbon to represent the cancer she had. It’s completed with a heart to represent her loved ones and remind her that she is not alone. She chose the design and considers it her “battle shield.” She didn’t have any physical signs that represented her struggle, such as hair loss or scars, and the tattoo is her way of saying, “I fought this too.”
Below the cancer ribbon are two more tattoos: a waterfall and an anchor, representing cancer conferences in Niagara Falls and Newfoundland. The conferences were moments of “learning, growth and understanding” for CancerWarrior10. She shares, “I felt unseen before the tattoo, like everyone just assumed I had a nice life and now if they see it, they can recognize that everyone has a story and it isn’t always perfect.”
STORIES FROM THE SKIN 