Featured Stories

Personal Ink and our community have been featured in impressive media publications throughout the years. You can read these stories at the links below.

See How These Breast Cancer Survivors Turned Their Mastectomy Scars Into Art with Stunning Tattoos

People Magazine wrote an article about P.ink in May 2024. The author shared the stories of P.ink recipients, Kerry Wright, Janet Wiseman, and Dawn Pugh, and their artists, Christopher Yaws, Akos Strenner, and Eddie Torres.

“After her final reconstruction surgery in November 2021, when she decided against nipple reconstruction (“Healing in two places when I had nothing but trouble healing? I wasn’t going to do that”), Wright began to reconsider [a mastectomy tattoo]. But she quickly realized that a tattoo covering such a large space would be more than she could easily afford— upwards of $1,500 to $1,800. “Cancer is expensive. Post-cancer is expensive because of all the medications,” Wright says. “I couldn’t justify taking that out of the household budget for myself.”

Then she came across a social media post from P.ink, and she applied for one of the group’s P.ink Days. “They get so many applications, and it was my first year applying, so I thought, ‘It’s not going to happen,’” she says. But she received a call in August saying she was accepted.”

After 5 Failed Breast Reconstructions, Getting a Tattoo Over My Scars Helped Me Heal

Erin Burnett, a P.ink Day recipient in 2019, shared her experience with PopSugar in October 2023. Erin was tattooed by artist Sal Tino.

“Today, I hold my head up higher because of it. The tattoo I chose crawls up onto my shoulder, and I always tell people, “My cleavage is more beautiful than yours.” I let it hang out, and I get a lot of questions. People tell me, “Wow, your tattoo is really cool.” And I’m proud to tell them, “It’s so much more than what you think it is.”

I can pull down my shirt and show them the full tattoo and all of the scars. I had a lot of muscle and tissue removed, and I’m a bit deformed, but it’s all covered by this beautiful peony. Now, it’s almost like these battle wounds I get to show off to the world.”

How a Tattoo Gave One Breast Cancer Survivor Freedom to Move On With Her Life

Oprah.com shared the story of Diane de Jesús, a P.ink recipient in San Francisco, and Roxx, her artist.

“This is what I’m getting, listening to you,” [Roxx] said, revealing what she’d drawn. De Jesús was floored. “I have to have that!” she exclaimed. Roxx turned the drawing into a stencil that fit de Jesús’s breast size and shape, and spent the next five hours applying the ink.

“After I got my tattoo, I realized I’d been avoiding looking at my chest,” says de Jesús. “Now when I look, I don’t see my scar—I see this beautiful art. My tattoo allowed me to get on with the rest of my life.”

‘Personal Ink’ Tattoos Help Clevelanders Regain Control Over Their Bodies After Breast Cancer

This story in Cleveland Magazine follows the Cleveland P.ink Day in 2023. It was the fourth year that Voodoo Monkey, a local tattoo shop, had volunteered their space and time to work with P.ink recipients.

“It’s really nice for our team to be able to give something back to the community, rather than just business as usual,” says Voodoo Monkey owner Dave Stalter, who shut down the shop for the private event. “It’s very rewarding for us.”