For women who’ve gone through breast cancer, Sandi Saunier is the last person they want to see — in a good way.
The surgical nurse at Port Moody’s Eagle Ridge Hospital has helped many patients get through difficult times of fear, uncertainty and pain on their road to recovery.
But it’s Saunier’s sideline gig as a tattoo artist who’s able to use her needles and inks to restore an appearance of normalcy for women who’ve gone through mastectomy surgery that’s made a visit with her a milestone appointment.
“This should be the final step in breast cancer so you can put it behind you,” says Saunier of the unique procedure she offers one day a week to tattoo an areola and even the illusion of a nipple onto a reconstructed breast or breasts.
Saunier, a nurse for 42 years, had never darkened the doorway of a tattoo parlour when a new plastic surgeon she was working with suggested a medical tattoo artist might be a better way to go for the cosmetic coup de grâce of breast reconstruction rather than leaving it to a doctor or even a conventional tattoo artist more used to needling skulls on biceps.
Saunier took a course through a cosmetic tattooing company and connected with a nurse in Kentucky who was experienced in the procedure to learn more about how to apply the tattoos in a hospital setting. She even hung out at a tattoo parlour in Abbotsford to get better versed on the equipment and sterilization techniques.
“It was a big undertaking,” Saunier said, adding her education came with the weight of responsibility that she wouldn’t just be tattooing an “ordinary person” — her clients would be women who’d already endured significant physical and emotional trauma.
“I really felt like these women have been through enough,” she said.
Since 2012, when Saunier’s tattoo clinic moved to Eagle Ridge from Surrey Memorial Hospital, she’s seen about 1,300 patients. Most come from across the Fraser Health region, but some, who’ve moved away since their surgery, have travelled from as far away as Nova Scotia and Yellowknife to complete their cancer journey.
The clinic is funded through donations to the Eagle Ridge Hospital Foundation.
Its executive director, Kristina Chung, said Saunier’s tattooing services have become an essential part of healing for many breast cancer survivors.
“We are honoured to play such a critical role in their recovery.”
Saunier said she gives each of her clients the space to talk about their cancer experience.
“It helps their healing,” she said. “It’s amazing how they’ll open up.”
Saunier said she’s meticulous about keeping the women she sees apprised of their options and her techniques every step of the 90-minute procedure, from reviewing colour swatches on their chest to get an idea of the final result to providing a mirror so they can assess the size, shape and position of her tattoo work.
In recent years, Saunier’s also learned how to use colour and shading to tattoo the illusion of a nipple for clients who’ve opted not to have one rebuilt as part of their reconstructive surgery.
It’s all about giving breast cancer survivors closure and helping them feel empowered again after giving themselves over to doctors, tests and procedures for so long.
“It helps them overcome the reminders that they’ve had breast cancer,” Saunier said. “They don’t have to think about breast cancer anymore.”
