The Areola Tattoo Clinic at Eagle Ridge Hospital sees approximately 100 patients every year.
The ambulatory care clinic at Eagle Ridge Hospital bears no resemblance to a tattoo parlour. However, since 2012, that is where Tattoo Artist/Registered Nurse Sandi Saunier has honed her craft, tattooing areolas on the breasts of breast cancer survivors. (An areola is the dark-coloured skin surrounding the nipple.)
“There is physical and emotional trauma that comes with breast cancer,” says Sandi. “While I’m tattooing, we talk, laugh and sometimes cry.”
Gen—in her early 30s—was referred to Sandi after undergoing a double mastectomy.
“When the bandages came off, I cried for days,” says the radiation technologist. “I wanted to look normal, and having my areolas tattooed was the last missing piece for me before I could feel completely healed.”
(Image) Closeup of Sandi Saunier tattooing a patient at the Areola Tattoo Clinic.
Helping patients heal comes naturally to Sandi, a surgical nurse. But tattooing wasn’t on her radar until 2009 when a plastic surgeon floated the idea of an areola tattoo clinic.
“We realized that many women, post-reconstructive surgery, were not completing the process because they were either not comfortable going to a tattoo artist, or they couldn’t afford the procedure,” says Sandi.
She trained with a medical tattoo specialist as well as a regular tattoo artist.
In 2012, the Areola Tattoo Clinic moved from Surrey Memorial Hospital to Eagle Ridge Hospital, where it now operates one day per week. The remainder of the time, Sandi is employed as a surgical nurse. “
As a nurse, you never get an-hour-and-a-half with a patient, just the two of you,” she says. “For me, doing areola tattooing is instant gratification. I get to see patients come in with nothing and in less than two hours, they are feeling fulfilled.
(Video) Sandi Saunier, registered nurse (RN), Areola Tattoo Artist
To date, Sandi has tattooed areolas on about 1,300 breast cancer survivors. Her work is made possible thanks to donations, including ongoing funding from Eagle Ridge Hospital Foundation.
"Eagle Ridge Hospital Foundation has proudly supported and funded the Areola Tattoo Clinic since 2012,” says Kristina Chung, Executive Director of Eagle Ridge Hospital Foundation. “Relying solely on donations, this invaluable service provides essential healing and support to breast cancer survivors, and we are honoured to play such a critical role in their recovery. Through ongoing community support and generous donations, we are dedicated to maintaining this service free of charge, ensuring accessible care for breast cancer survivors who wish to undergo this procedure as part of their healing journey.”
The program is available to mastectomy patients throughout the Lower Mainland referred by a surgeon. For more information call 604-469-3128 or visit Eagle Ridge Foundation.
