Author Archives: storiesfromtheskin

Frankie is a 33-year-old woman with a tattoo of a phoenix on her forearm. The phoenix is yellow and teal, representing the two types of cancer that Frankie battled: yellow for sarcoma and teal for ovarian. Frankie describes that the person she was before cancer metaphorically died, and a new version of herself was bornContinue reading “Frankie: Born from the ashes”

Emi is a woman in her late 20s who lost both of her grandparents within a month of each other. Her grandfather was the was the first loved one she had ever lost. He was an amazing painter (in the Chinese watercolour style), and Emi loved the florals he used to design. She wanted aContinue reading “Emi: Always with me”

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.”Continue reading “CancerWarrior10: Everyone has a story”

Anonymous is a woman in her mid-20s. She says, “My tattoos are like time stamps – I get them during a time in my life that I want to remember. I pick a design that explains or says what I feel or what was happening at that time in my life. This specific design, cherriesContinue reading “Anonymous: The art of tattoos”

Ak is a woman in her late 20s. She has a tiny tulip tattoo on her chest to cover up a scar from chest acne she had in her late teens. She didn’t like the way the scar looked and would often cover it with makeup. Although she was worried about getting a tattoo, AkContinue reading “Ak: A tulip”

Yellow is a woman in her mid 20s with a tattoo on her forearm of a skeleton with dying daisies and blueberries growing out of it. The tattoo is located on her forearm in the location where she has the most self-harm scars. Yellow got the inspiration for the design when she saw a collectionContinue reading “Yellow: Growth is possible”

In 2019, Vee lost her sister to cancer. Vee’s sister was her only sibling and she experienced complications with a cancer relapse. Vee says that the initial shock and grief made it difficult to discuss her sister’s death “without a rush of emotions.” In the aftermath of this great loss, Vee decided to get aContinue reading “Vee: A tribute to my sister”

Tattooed Teacher is a woman in her early 50s from Regina, Saskatchewan. She has a tattoo of lilies and a dragonfly on the inside of her left forearm. She got her tattoo done after her “close friend chose a medically assisted death in 2019.” Tattooed Teacher knew her friend since she was 15 years old,Continue reading “Tattooed Teacher: Never alone”

Survivor ’97 is a 47-year-old woman with the “Sagittarius broken face” tattooed on her neck. She chose the location of the neck so that she and others can see it. She got this tattoo upon retiring from the military after 24 years and 80 days of service. She shares that she did not know howContinue reading “Survivor ‘97: Sagittarius Broken Face”

Serialsomething received this tattoo on her forearm as a representation of keeping things in perspective. She provided the idea and her tattoo artist worked on the design. She says the design “represents how small humans are in the vastness of nature and [her] closeness with [her] dog.”  She feels more confident now, no longer fearingContinue reading “Serialsomething: Perspective”