By Evi Tsakali,
“I do not draw nipples in my tattoos; I turn symbols of war into symbols of peace. I close the hospital door and I open the door of the new life ahead; the life after breast cancer. This is my responsibility”. Rebecca Giannopoulou is a medical tattoo artist; she was born in Morocco and at the age of 12 she arrived in Greece, her father’s homeland. After studying the art of tattooing in France, she returned to Greece once again to practice her art in Glyfada, the neighborhood she grew up in.
6 years ago, a friend of hers had breast cancer and, while she was fine with breast reconstruction after a mastectomy, it bothered her when she passed next to mirrors. “Something was missing. On the one hand, she was a woman and on the other, she looked like a Barbie. She told me that she would walk like a crab in front of mirrors. I told her to put some color on it. When we tried it and I saw her shock in front of the mirror, I realized that this is what really matters,” she has stated multiple times in interviews.
Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women, affecting 1 in 9 women. In Greece, breast cancer is the first incidence and the second cause of death after lung cancer. Women who despite all odds survive this battle often come out of it terribly exhausted and have lost touch with their feminine side, their sensuality; which they have the opportunity to find once again via the technique of medical tattoos. According to Rebecca Giannopoulou, “Nipple reconstruction is a very delicate matter because it combines art and delicacy. When the time has come for a woman to perfect her breasts, after serious operations, she has already suffered enough, both physically and psychologically. Our goal is to transfer it from the world of medicine to the world of beauty”.
It was with this vision that the medical tattoo artist came up with the initiative “Celebrate Your Scars”. Since creating Celebrate Your Scars in 2014, Rebecca has looked forward to Breast Cancer Day every year. She started all by herself. Today, Celebrate Your Scars is a celebration of joy where experts from every field (oncologists, plastic surgeons, tattoo artists, acupuncturists, chiropractors, etc.) participate.
The initiative’s upcoming event will be held on the 29th of November in the city of Ioannina (and other events all around Greece will follow throughout the year), do not miss it!
References
- Celebrate your scars. celebrateyourscars.gr. Available here
- Celebrate your scars-Rebecca Giannopoulou Medical Tattoo. rebecca.gr. Available here
