Salisbury tattoo artist offers free areola reconstruction for breast, top surgery patients
SALISBURY, Md. – A local tattoo artist is offering a special free service to folks who have undergone major surgery. Areola reconstruction is not always accessible, or affordable. That’s why Heather Marzi at Crucial Tattoo Studio is doing what she can to help provide it to anyone who needs it.
Sentimental Service
After all, Marzi knows first-hand what it’s like to watch a loved one suffer through and survive breast cancer.
“My grandmother had a double mastectomy when I was young,” Marzi remembered. “She was a breast cancer survivor, and she did not have [areola reconstruction] available to her. Or, if she did, it was very primitive at that time. This was back in the 1970s and ’80s.”
Marzi thinks her grandmother would have taken full advantage of areola reconstruction, had she been able to.
“There would not have been areola reconstruction available to her at the time,” Marzi said. “And, I think that made her very uncomfortable, and feel even worse about it.”
Now, Marzi is ready to offer the region a different way of permanently marking people who already bear the scars of life-changing experiences.
“[Areola reconstruction] isn’t available to everybody. Insurance can cover it sometimes, but I know it can be complicated. So, I just wanted to make sure that it was accessible to anybody who needs it,” Marzi explained.
More Than Just a Marking
While tattoos are often a way to showcase individuality, Marzi says they can also restore dignity.
“I know that the last step of the journey of feeling like your body is whole again is probably the closest thing you can get to healing,” Marzi said. “And so, I want to be a part of that, and I want to be able to provide that to people.”
And, Marzi isn’t just providing the free service to those who have been given a cancer diagnosis.
“Everybody who needs it—anybody who needs it—it is free of charge. All you have to do is contact me,” Marzi emphasized. “This is for everybody who has had any type of top surgery.”
Even with more than 20 years of experience inking skin, Marzi says she had to undergo months of special training before she was ready to reconstruct areolas.
“I needed to know about the different types of surgeries that people have to undergo, I needed to know what kind of scar tissue I might encounter, how to color match the skin, how to match the nipples,” Marzi said.
“Better than any paycheck.”
Tattooing is “extraordinarily personal,” as Marzi puts it. So, she can’t wait to help people who have been through so much to feel whole again.
“I feel very close to my clients when I tattoo them. It’s really an honor, and it’s very humbling to get to share some of those experiences with people,” Marzi said. “A lot of times, [the tattoo] is representing a difficult time in their life or a very meaningful special time in their life. Just getting to be a part of that is better than any paycheck.”
You can contact Marzi for a consultation by emailing her at Heather@CrucialTattoo.com. Crucial Tattoo Studio is located at 28754 Ocean Gateway, Suite J, Salisbury, Md. 21801. You can call the shop at 410-571-4083.
