Hampstead tattoo artist helps heal emotions of breast cancer patients
As an artist, Jenean LaCorte loves using her talents to boost the confidence of women who went through traumatic experiences of having their breasts removed because of cancer.
"It makes me feel absolutely amazing to be the bright spot in someone's horrible cancer journey," said LaCorte, owner of Restorative Tattoos.
Inside her Hampstead office on U.S. 17, LaCorte gives people 3D nipple tattoos after mastectomy operations for breast cancer. The process of giving a nipple or areola tattoo involves the placement of pigment under the epidermis of the skin of the breast.
They return a few weeks later for follow up visits, so LaCorte can see if everything healed. She also notices the changes the tattoos have on their personality.
"They walk in a totally different person," she said. "They walk in light, happy, and they're able to feel like themselves again. Imagine your chest without nipples: man, woman, or whoever. They're natural, you're used to looking at them. Take those away and you don't feel human."
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Most are women, but she's given medical tattoos to a couple of men, too.
"Think of how often men are without a shirt," she said. "Everyone sees it. For women, it's more of an intimate experience."
LaCorte grew up in Toledo, Ohio and went to Columbus College of Art and Design in Columbus, Ohio. She moved to North Carolina about 20 years ago. Her journey in making medical tattoos started after her brother-in-law's sister was diagnosed with breast cancer.
"When my grandmother went through breast cancer, that wasn't an option," she said. "So, I asked her about it, and she was finding a hard time finding some that could look real."
After being unpleased with other artists, LaCorte learned how to do it herself and earned certification through Penn Medicine's Sauler Institute. From her very first tattoo, she knew this is what she wanted to do with her life.
She also gives scar camouflage tattoos with different flesh tone pigments to disguise a skin area missing color from burns, accidents, surgeries, acne, or other problems.
"I absolutely love that I can help people this way," she said.
For LaCorte, it's a one-woman job from answering calls, making appointments, and giving the tattoos. Another challenge is not being able to advertise results because of confidential matters and the nature of the tattoo.
"It's a lot of word of mouth and doctor referrals," she said.
A lot of the patients come from across the state and country. And in one case, LaCorte saw a woman fly-in from Abu Dhabi.
"It's amazing," she said.
Looking ahead, LaCorte would like to create a mobile unit to make it easier for people who have a hard time traveling. But it will take time to figure out logistics and other challenges.
"I know the breast cancer demographic can run anywhere from the 20s to 80," she added. "But the primary age is probably 50s to 70s. So we're talking about people who are older, they can't always travel, especially if they been through multiple cancers. I would love to create a mobile unit to offer services."
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Reporter Chase Jordan can be reached at cjjordan@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Hampstead artist continues success helping cancer and scarred patients
