'Such A Blessing': Breast Cancer Survivor Finds Confidence Through Tattoos

After being diagnosed with breast cancer, Brenda Townsend had surgery that made her cancer-free, but it took a toll on her self-esteem.

"I don't know how to explain it, but looking into the mirror, I didn't feel like me. You just look and you feel plastic," she said.

That is until she met Kristy Ha.

These shades of paint represent every woman. Just as they vary, so do the stories of women facing breast cancer.

"I went from zero to stage two instantly," Townsend said. She tells it how it is—just like her shirt.

"Yes, these are fake; my real ones tried to kill me."

There's lightness now, but at the time, Townsend felt the burden of deciding to have a mastectomy.

"I think I have never been so scared in my life,” she said. “But I also said, 'I got this; I can't back down. I was raised very strong by very strong women, and I was taught you don't give up.'"

She was strong through the surgery, but it was a huge loss for Townsend.

"Once all the surgeries and finally everything healed, losing my nipples was the hardest thing for me," she said.

But Kristy Ha could help. She's a medical micropigmentologist.

With every detail and every shade, Ha gave Townsend her confidence back.

"I have never been so blessed in my life than that day. I can't explain it; it was just such a blessing. To come in and meet her, she did an amazing job, and looking in the mirror, I just cried and hugged her and said thank you so much. I can't explain how complete I felt," Townsend said.

"Being able to have a gift like this where you can give back to women at the end of their journey, when they have had something taken from them and they don't feel complete or beautiful or are insecure about their appearance, so being able to give back in that small way is really fulfilling," said Ha.

Each shade is different, but that feeling of confidence is the same.

"I instantly felt whole again."

Ha offers this service for free to breast cancer survivors during the months of October and November.

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