A bristle father-off-three has talked about feeling “complete” at the end after receiving a realistic 3D nipple tattoo after a mastectomy.
Breast cancer was detected after finding an IT advisor and retired police officer, 67 -year -old Dave Talbot while taking a knot while bathing in 2015.
After their diagnosis – which affects around 400 men in the UK annually – Talbot passed through a mastectomy to remove its right breast, followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy and in 2017, they were declared cancer -free.
However, removing his nipple, he felt “something was missing.” He even jokingly told his grandchildren that he was “attacked by a crocodile”.
This year, Telbot was given the opportunity to have a 3D nipple tattoo, a process that has helped them achieve a sense of perfection.
Thanks to the award -winning medical tattoo artist Lucy Thompson, Dave has recently passed through his first session, described the results as “surprising”, and wants to encourage other men to ask for this service.
Dave told PA Real Life: “This is the 10th anniversary this year, which I have breast cancer.
“The tattoo almost completes the circle because it was something that I was worried about.
“It is good to match the nipples again after all these years.”
Dave, who lives with his 62 -year -old partner Pamela McLod, explained that he did not suffer from “any major medical issues” until his diagnosis in 2015.
He discovered a “abscess” lump in his right breast while bathing on holiday and seeing that he had lost his brother for leukemia and his mother for ovarian cancer, he knew that he needed to take quick action.
Dave said, “I was blessed with a great GP, so I saw and looked at him, and he said,” Okay, it is probably a fatty tissue looking at your age, but I will send you to check for breast cancer. “
After an ultrasound and biopsy at the hospital, it was confirmed that Dave had “aggressive” breast cancer in October 2015.
His breast cancer surgeon stated that the cancer was caught early for GP for a fast visit to Dave, but said “a difference in a few weeks”.
Dave said, “Your first idea is, ‘How long have I got?”, Because your attitude for cancer is a death sentence. ,
“Then there were disappointment and anger other reactions … but since it was quickly detected, I knew that it was treatable.”
He had a mastectomy and his lymph nodes removed, followed by six rounds of chemotherapy, and then participated in the moonwalk in May 2016, which was to walk a fundamental to be held by breast cancer charity walk the walk.
Subsequently, he had radiotherapy, completed his treatment in June 2016, and said that he felt “absolutely very relief” when he was cancer -free and “ready to be normal”.
Considering his mastectomy, he said: “Interestingly, my breast cancer surgeon said, ‘We are going to give you a mastectomy’, one thing that I said to him, ‘Can I keep my right nipple?’
“He said, ‘Okay, you can, but I would not recommend it’, so I went and interacted with my wife and I emailed her back and said, ‘Okay, take it away’, but it harassed me.
“The option to have a nipple tattoo, I think for women in those days, was quite unheard, so I never really thought it too much.”
After his diagnosis, Dave became a “crucier” in encouraging men to check and publicly spoke in the police federation conference and universities and worked with various charitables.
Men’s VMU (virtual meat-up)-A male-dedicated support group for men suffering from cancer has offered “support” and thus came across the Dave Nipple tattoo.
Dr, Senior Lecturer in Psychology at D. Montfort University in Lester. The co-founder of the Kerry Quincy and the men’s VMU said: “Unfortunately, men usually have less post-mastectomy options for them than women.
“Giving men an opportunity to undergo nipple tattoos – whether they choose tattoos or not – so it is important for better breast cancer equality and inclusive aftercare.”
Dave took a step by Lucy Thompson, the founder of the Nipple Innovation Project (NIP), 35, Lucy Thompson, who recently participated with Bradford Teaching Hospital, and received a tattoo on 21 February.
Dave said that the 25-minute session was actually painless and he would again visit Lucy in Bradford, West Yorkshire for a touch-up in the coming weeks as the skin is “very critical”.
Lucy, who has completed more than 1,000 nipple tattoos, said that he is “very lucky that something is very important”.
“We understand that it is very personal to talk about your nipples and it is not often discussed, and that is why we are eager to cooperate and increase awareness,” she said.
“At the end of the day, it is part of a natural body that we should not feel ashamed to talk and these tattoos can help people regain their body after cancer.
“To be able to see the change in front of my eyes – this is really special.”
Advisor onkoplastic breast surgeon Ross McLeen, at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead, said: “Breast cancer does not discriminate on the basis of penis, yet male patients often face a lack of stigma and a shortage of support.
“Projects such as the Nipple Innovation Project (NIP) challenge social perceptions and create opportunities to remove these inequalities.
“NHS is struggling to provide capacity for this valuable process, this partnership between NIP and Bradford Teaching Hospitals represents the NHS Foundation Trust a significant milestone and shows a model to expand this process for all breast cancer, regardless of gender.”
With the 10th anniversary of his diagnosis in October, Dave feels that he has now come “full cycle” after the tattoo.
He wants to continue to raise awareness about male breast cancer and hopes that he may encourage other men to ask for paramedical tattoos without feeling “embarrassed”.
“Men like to be stoic, but if something changes in your body or you don’t feel right and it does not improve within a few weeks, check it,” he said.
“I now feel full and I have got my body back the way it looked.”
To learn more about men’s VMU, about Themensvmu.org or NIP, visit: Nipcharity.org.
