Not long after Christmas in 2008, Sue Cook received a bleak diagnosis from her doctor. She had a highly aggressive, localized type of breast cancer that could only be treated with chemotherapy, radiation, and radical mastectomy (a surgical procedure that would remove breast tissue and muscle).
It was an intense and invasive treatment process, and even then, Cook was only given a 40% chance of living another five years.
Now, in 2016, Cook is proud to say that she’s been in remission for seven years – and living long past the doctor’s prediction.
When Cook hit her “unexpected year-five remission, [she] began reclaiming [her] body to show that cancer doesn’t always have to leave the last mark.” “I have just completed a tattoo,” she said, “transforming my scars into art.”
The entire tattoo took over 30 hours to complete, but Cook said it was “worth every minute.”
“My tattoo celebrates my victory over cancer,” Cook explained. Particularly because the design of the tattoo “almost recreate[s] the feeling” of wearing “beautiful lace underwear,” Cook feels that her tattoo “gives a boost of confidence…like a little hidden secret. An inner smile.”
She confessed, “It’s difficult to explain how happy my tattoo makes me feel. To me it is a thing of beauty.”
As the chief examiner for the University of the Arts London’s Foundation in Art & Design course, Cook also helped raise money for Cancer Research UK by “incorporating her work with artists” and collecting donated pieces to sell at an auction.
This fundraising effort was something incredibly rewarding and personal for her – just like her tattoo. “Every morning I can wake up to see a beautiful piece of body art,” she smiled.
