Kelly Davidson doesn’t have breasts, but she is alive.
That’s what the three-time cancer survivor remembers every time she stands naked in front of a mirror. Where her breasts used to be, there is now an elaborate tattoo of a fairy, forest and butterflies.
“It’s my badge of honour and strength,” she says. “It reminds me every day of the battles that I’ve overcome. I’ve won this war and hopefully I’ve beat it completely.”
But when Davidson, a 34-year-old Ottawa medical assistant, posted a topless photo of herself to Facebook, she didn’t expect it to attract over half a million “likes” and be shared by more than 90,000 people.
The photo went viral after she posted it on Why We Ink, a Facebook page for people with tattoos that mark their own battles with cancer or honour loved ones who have died from the disease.
Davidson first grappled with cancer at age 11 when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. At 28, she learned she had breast cancer, prompting two mastectomies.
But rather than get reconstructive surgery, Davidson opted for a tattoo. She had already been inked a few times and chose a fantasy scene with butterflies to symbolize the cancer leaving her body.
“I decided to turn this negative thing into a positive, and put a beautiful piece of artwork in place of something that to a lot of people is really devastating,” she says.
Jules Fitzsimmons, a Toronto casting director, started Why We Ink last year after noticing how common cancer-inspired tattoos were. She has a dove tattooed on her right shoulder to remember her brother, Owen, who died in 2010.
“You’ve lost this person. You’ve lost this loved one. What better way to mark their time on Earth than to have them displayed on your body?” she says.
Fitzsimmons is creating a book that will collect the images and stories shared on the popular page, which has more than 8,000 likes. She is still looking for a publisher but wants all the proceeds to go to cancer support groups.
Facebook has not contacted Fitzsimmons about the photo, but it has removed images of mastectomies in the past. In February, the social networking giant reportedly backed down after repeatedly pulling the image of a tattooed breast cancer survivor’s chest.
Davidson battled cancer a third time at 31 when she had thyroid cancer. As she looks forward to her wedding this summer, she says she is hopeful — but never certain — she won’t face the disease again.
“I’m living and loving life. I’m not going to let cancer get me down. If it does come back, I’m just going to keep beating it like I have before.”
