Hello Kim,

Thanks for sharing this article. I found it a very interesting read and an uplifting story indeed!

I am sorry to hear you have been feeling self-conscious about that scar to the point of turning down invitations to social events and I am sure given how eloquent you are that you are very much missed at these social occasions!

Many on our forum will feel the same as you and they may have some tips for you whether they had a tattoo themselves or found other ways to live with or cover their scars.

I'd be interested to read our members' experiences on this.

Best wishes,

Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator

Hi Kim,

Not something I've come across personally but I remember seeing an article about a guy in the US who specialised in 3D tattoos as part of breast reconstruction. 

In a past career, I did come across the use of both specialist make up and tattoos to camouflage scarring following incidents of self-harm. i guess similar techniques could be used for surgical scars.

Regards

Dave

ps here's a useful link - Changing Faces might also be useful.

www.5boroughspartnership.nhs.uk/.../

Hi Dave

Thanks for the link. Its amazing what can be done to camouflage scars. I did look into the changing faces website but did not go any further. A tattoo was out as the area is an extremely thin skin graft right next to my skull. I think I just need to brave up a bit and ignore the stares.

Also thanks for the supportive words from those who have commented on this in various threads. It means a lot. Kim

Hi Kim,

I too have a very large scar but on my hip and down my leg and I felt very self conscious about this for a long time. People will always look at scars because they are different. You will find though that very rarely people are judging you but instead wondering what your story is - they just don't realise how damaging it can be for someone who is trying to recover and get their confidence back. 

It takes time to accept a scar but one day you won't even notice people looking. Once your friends and family have seen it a few times they'll accept it too - and will naturally just stop looking, if they even were in the first place. Your loved ones would rather have you here any day of the week and they are the people who matter. 

Personally whenever I had strangers being a bit nosey with my scar I had a bit of fun with them; I knew I didn't have to tell them about my treatment so I made a different story up everytime, the wilder the better. Shark attack is my personal favourite, but ultimately it's none of their business!

All the best,

MidgetGem93 x