'I feel beautiful inside and out': Woman who has survived breast cancer twice covers her double mastectomy scars with a tattoo inspired by bouquets her husband has given her over the years

  • Sara Coulson, 52, from Gores Landing, Ontario, has undergone 26 rounds of chemotherapy, 21 rounds of radiotherapy, a lumpectomy, and a mastectomy
  • She had been considering reconstructive surgery for two months when doctors to told her her risk of developing cancer again was too high
  • They advised her to delay reconstruction for another year, but Sara decided to get a tattoo to cover the scars instead
  • The design incorporates three roses in it — a nod to the many bouquets of flowers husband Gary has given Sara over the years
  • 'This brings everything to a closure for me. It's the end of a long hard road and it's given me something beautiful to get up and look at in the morning,' Sara said

A woman who survived breast cancer twice is celebrating her new body with a beautiful mastectomy tattoo.

Sara Coulson, 52, from Gores Landing, Ontario, has undergone 26 rounds of chemotherapy, 21 rounds of radiotherapy, a lumpectomy, and a double mastectomy.

She had been considering reconstructive surgery for two months when doctors to told her her risk of developing cancer again was too high due to genetic factors and that she should delay reconstruction for another year. 

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Ink: Cancer survivor Sara Coulson, 52, from Gores Landing, Ontario, got her chest tattooed to mask her mastectomy scars

Ink: Cancer survivor Sara Coulson, 52, from Gores Landing, Ontario, got her chest tattooed to mask her mastectomy scars

Choices: Doctors told Sara her her risk of developing cancer again was too high due and that she should delay reconstruction for another year. She decided to get a tattoo instead

Choices: Doctors told Sara her her risk of developing cancer again was too high due and that she should delay reconstruction for another year. She decided to get a tattoo instead

Treatment: Sara has undergone 26 rounds of chemotherapy, 21 rounds of radiotherapy, a lumpectomy, and a double mastectomy 

Treatment: Sara has undergone 26 rounds of chemotherapy, 21 rounds of radiotherapy, a lumpectomy, and a double mastectomy 

Rather than wait, Sara decided to get a mastectomy tattoo to cover the scars left by the procedure.

'Having the scar covered up with the tattoo is the final piece of the puzzle,' she said.

'I don't want to say it will make me feel more beautiful because we are all beautiful in our own ways inside and out.

'It's not something you can actually put in words, it's the way it makes you feel. I will get up in the morning now and look in the mirror and I'm going to see this beautiful tattoo and it's just going to give me a whole different attitude. It's just going to make me feel that much better within myself.'

The tattoo design incorporates three roses in it — a nod to the many bouquets of flowers husband Gary has given Sara over the years, always with three roses arranged into them. 

Meaning: The tattoo design incorporates three roses in it — a nod to the many bouquets of flowers husband Gary has given Sara over the years

Meaning: The tattoo design incorporates three roses in it — a nod to the many bouquets of flowers husband Gary has given Sara over the years

Sentimental: Sara wanted to make sure her tattoo had an 'emotional connection', which is why she chose a design inspired by the bouquets Gary has given her over the years

Sentimental: Sara wanted to make sure her tattoo had an 'emotional connection', which is why she chose a design inspired by the bouquets Gary has given her over the years

Couple: Gary (pictured with Sara on their wedding day) has given her bouquets including three roses to mark many important occasions, including the births of their children

Couple: Gary (pictured with Sara on their wedding day) has given her bouquets including three roses to mark many important occasions, including the births of their children

Past: Sara (pictured on the day after her wedding to Gary) said the three roses are meant to symbolize the three words in the sentence 'I love you'

Past: Sara (pictured on the day after her wedding to Gary) said the three roses are meant to symbolize the three words in the sentence 'I love you'

'The first time Gary told me that he loved me, he gave me three roses and told me that each one represents a word in "I love you,"' Sara said.

'Ever since then, regardless of what the occasion — when our children were all born, Christmas, anniversaries, it doesn't matter what the arrangement is, there is always three roses in there to remind me that he loves me.

'I felt that I needed to make that kind of a emotional connection to the tattoo so we put three roses in the tattoo and we have built around that.'

Sara got her tattoo at Koukla studios in Cobourg, Ontario through Project New Moon, the studio's non-profit tattoo service offering tattoos to those with scars from mastectomies as well as other surgeries and self-harming.

Sara was first diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 33 years old, while she had two young children and a demanding job with the family pub and catering business.

'I got the phone call on May 17th, which will stay with me because that's my dad's birthday and I was absolutely devastated,' she recounted.

Process: Sara (pictured at the hospital on her last day of chemotherapy) said getting her tattoo done to cover her mastectomy scars was the 'final piece of the puzzle'

Process: Sara (pictured at the hospital on her last day of chemotherapy) said getting her tattoo done to cover her mastectomy scars was the 'final piece of the puzzle'

Team: During treatment, Sara (pictured at the hospital on her last day of chemotherapy) regularly brought food for the nursing staff 

Team: During treatment, Sara (pictured at the hospital on her last day of chemotherapy) regularly brought food for the nursing staff 

Family: Sara and Gary's daughter Morgan (pictured on the day of her graduation) was six when her mother was first diagnosed with cancer

Family: Sara and Gary's daughter Morgan (pictured on the day of her graduation) was six when her mother was first diagnosed with cancer

Illness: Sara (pictured with her daughter Morgan, son Dylan, and stepdaughter Kirsty three years after her first cancer diagnosis) received her first diagnosis aged 33

Illness: Sara (pictured with her daughter Morgan, son Dylan, and stepdaughter Kirsty three years after her first cancer diagnosis) received her first diagnosis aged 33

Back: Sara (pictured with Gary, Dylan, and Morgan) was diagnosed with cancer for a second time after finding a lump in her breast in February 2017

Back: Sara (pictured with Gary, Dylan, and Morgan) was diagnosed with cancer for a second time after finding a lump in her breast in February 2017

Condition: Sara's second cancer diagnosis came after she and Gary bought a beach house in Florida to escape the long Canadian winters

Condition: Sara's second cancer diagnosis came after she and Gary bought a beach house in Florida to escape the long Canadian winters

It took eight months for Sara to be cancer-free. First, Sara had a lumpectomy, with surgeons removing 10 lymph nodes. She then underwent a grueling six-month course of chemotherapy and 21 rounds of radiotherapy.

'Some mornings my daughter Morgan at six would be in the bathroom, she would just yell down the hallway, "Mommy I cleaned all your hair in the sink for you,"' Sara said.

'It was emotional for everybody. You know your highs, your lows, you are all over the place.'

Slowly, Sara's family and work life returned to normal. After their children moved out, Gary and Sara bought a beach house in Florida to escape the long Canadian winters. But in February 2017, while on one of their extended holidays, Sara noticed a lump in her breast and realized the cancer had come back.

'It took us by surprise,' Gary said. 'Who would expect after being cancer-free for 18 years that it would come back? And it came back different. Different symptoms. Everything was completely different from the first time. And that's why it was such a shock when the nurse told us that it was cancer.'

This time around the chemo was more aggressive, consisting of 16 rounds over five months, but Sara vowed to remain positive. She dubbed her weekly appointments 'Chemo Thursdays', brought food for the nursing staff, and dressed up for the occasion.

'I always made a fruit platter or a vegetable platter or something for the nurses. Because I feel that they do a wonderful job,' Sara said.

'I had a different outfit for every Thursday, different pair of shoes, and would get ready and tell Gary to take my picture.'

Hard: The second time around, the chemo was more aggressive, consisting of 16 rounds over five months, but Sara (pictured on her last day of chemotherapy) vowed to remain positive

Hard: The second time around, the chemo was more aggressive, consisting of 16 rounds over five months, but Sara (pictured on her last day of chemotherapy) vowed to remain positive

Side effects: Sara (pictured with GAry) also coped with her hair thinning out after her second round of chemo

Side effects: Sara (pictured with GAry) also coped with her hair thinning out after her second round of chemo

Adventure: Sara (pictured with Gary, Morgan, Kirsty, and Dylan), are pictured enjoying a boat trip during Sara's cancer treatment

Adventure: Sara (pictured with Gary, Morgan, Kirsty, and Dylan), are pictured enjoying a boat trip during Sara's cancer treatment

Sara also coped with her hair thinning out after her second round of chemo.

'I went to the hairdresser's right after chemo and I wanted them to buzz it off. And they said "Let's just cut it really short so we can try and keep your hair until Mother's Day." And Mother's Day, my hair all fell out,' she recounted.

'It's hard to say where your emotions are. They are kind of all over the place. I was worse when I lost my eyebrows than when I lost my hair. And I believe that losing the eyebrows and then losing the eyelashes that was the last bit of my femininity and it was gone.

'I drew fake eyebrows on. Not very well but we did it. Everybody said that I had the perfect-shaped head to be bald so we make jokes about it and you do what you gotta do.'

Happy with it: Sara (pictured after her cancer went into remission for the second time) said the tattoo brought her 'closure'
Happy with it: Sara (pictured showing off her tattoo on the beach) said the design brought her 'closure'

Happy with it: Sara (pictured left after her cancer went into remission for the second time and right showing off her tattoo on the beach) said the tattoo brought her 'closure'

Return: Sara was first diagnosed at 33, while she had a demanding job with the family pub and catering business. She's pictured back at work two years after her first diagnosis

Return: Sara was first diagnosed at 33, while she had a demanding job with the family pub and catering business. She's pictured back at work two years after her first diagnosis

Self-love: Sara (pictured before she was diagnosed with cancer) said she feels 'beautiful inside and out'
Self-love: Sara (pictured recovering after her second cancer diagnosis) said she feels 'beautiful inside and out'

Self-love: Sara (pictured left before she was diagnosed with cancer and right recovering after her second cancer diagnosis) said she feels 'beautiful inside and out'

Closure: Sara (pictured with Gary, Dylan, and Morgan) said the tattoo has marked the end of 'a long hard road' for her

Closure: Sara (pictured with Gary, Dylan, and Morgan) said the tattoo has marked the end of 'a long hard road' for her

While undergoing chemo, Sara had to decide if she should have reconstructive surgery or not. After agonizing for two months, the decision was taken away from her when doctors told her she should delay reconstruction for at least a year because if a recurrence occurred it would be easier to detect without implants. 

'There's no way to explain I was just like — I am okay with who I am. I am okay with how my body is,' she said.

'I mean if I was 20, 30, then yeah definitely I would have reconstructive surgery. But I am in my fifties. I still have a lot of life ahead of me. But I own who I am. I own what I look like.

'I know that I am beautiful inside and out. I have gained a lot of courage and self-respect for myself. And I just think that having this tattoo is an expression of myself.

'I just want something beautiful to look at. The scars are always gonna be there. I am not hiding it, it's always gonna be there and it's always gonna be a part of who I am.

'This brings everything to a closure for me. It's the end of a long hard road and it's given me something beautiful to get up and look at in the morning.'

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