FRESNO, Calif. ( KSEE/KGPE ) – A Fresno business owner says her shop that helps cancer patients was targeted in a New Year’s Eve break-in. Inked Arch owner Erica Castaneda says she has worked with at least 30 cancer patients since she began tattooing women who lost their areolas to breast cancer .
According to Castaneda, she had experience as a permanent make-up artist but had to work hard to master the intricacies that came with working with cancer patients who needed realistic tattoos.
How a tattoo artist is helping Fresno’s breast cancer survivors
“I had a couple of friends that were diagnosed with breast cancer. So it made me really curious about paramedical services such as 3D areola tattoos,” Castaneda said. “Seeing their cancer journey, how they feel after having a mastectomy and not having a breast or an areola – that’s why I started doing it.”
Castaneda says she had a lot of familial support as she made her way through that learning curve in the form of her father stepping up to help her practice.
“He allowed me to practice on him, bless his heart, to make sure that I really was skin-ready for my cancer patients,” Castaneda said. “He donated his body to me and let me tattoo areola on him.”…