New App Helps Breast Cancer Survivors Find Tattoo to Hide Mastectomy Scars

— -- P.ink, an organization that assists breast cancer survivors, has kicked off Breast Cancer Awareness Month with a new tattoo app designed to help women who are looking to hide scar tissue.

Launched in early 2013, P.ink helps breast cancer survivors who have undergone mastectomies and breast reconstruction by connecting them with a tattoo artist that creates designs to cover and hide scar tissue from such operations. Now the organization has released Inkspiration, an app that gives women a preview of how a particular tattoo would look on their bodies.

"When you've had a mastectomy, whether you've had plastic surgery or not, you're still going to have scar tissue...many survivors who are not 'tattoo people' are suddenly open to it," said Noel Franus, a co-founder of P.ink.

With the app, a woman can take a picture of her body, paste a tattoo on to it and see if she likes how it looks. The app also displays body types with common forms of scar tissue that may result from mastectomies. Once they have made a decision, the organization helps connect them with a tattoo artist who has experience in tattooing mastectomy scar tissue.

Karen Richards was one of the beta testers for the app and says it's a great device for women who are unsure about or trying to find the right tattoo and is for women who have undergone breast reconstruction or not.

"I think it's an incredible way for women to experiment with tattoos and designs before they commit to having ink on their body."

Richards, a 12-year breast cancer survivor, says the scarring acts as a reminder of the ordeal.

"Even though my scars have faded, it's still the very first thing I see when I look in the mirror," she said. "For me, it doesn't matter how long has passed. It's still the first thing I see."

Franus says the app will soon offer more features, including an option for purchasing temporary tattoos in the mail.

"The big deal is they have for the first time a very visceral look at what the future looks like on their own terms."

Richards has not yet come to a decision. I'm working with my artist," she says, and using the app to experiment with different designs.

Inkspiration is only available on the iPhone, but an android-version is expected to be released soon.