A grandfather of six in the B.C. Lower Mainland who never wanted a tattoo in his life, now has one on his face, thanks to the Facial Aesthetic Medical Tattoo Program at Port Moody's Eagle Ridge Hospital.
Malcolm Matheson of Pitt Meadows had cancerous tissue removed from his neck, throat and cheek and doctors grafted skin from his arm onto his face.
He received the tattoo, a skin colour-matching tattoo that blends the tissue more naturally into the surrounding skin, free of charge, a program available to patients recovering from cancers of the face, neck and throat.
Matheson never imagined going to a hospital for a tattoo.
“Definitely not,” laughed the Pitt Meadows father of four and grandfather of six.
“I never had a tattoo, never wanted a tattoo and when I told my granddaughter I was getting a tattoo on my face, she was surprised.”
He said his first priority was to stay alive for his family, but when presented with the opportunity to have Sandi Saunier, a surgical nurse at Eagle Ridge Hospital, work on his face, he thought, why not?
Saunier, started work tattooing patients in 2009, when a surgeon at the hospital floated the idea of an areola tattoo clinic for breast cancer patients.
To date, Saunier has tattooed areolae on about 1,400 breast cancer survivors, and is now expanding her skillset to include patients recovering from cancers of the facial region.
“When people look in the mirror, they see this visible reminder of how they’ve survived cancer,” explained Saunier.
“Often, they’ve gone through multiple surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation, so being able to help with that final piece that makes them feel better about themselves is gratifying,” she said.
Each tattoo session takes up to two hours. And since Saunier is a registered nurse with special training, she can provide a local anaesthetic to minimize the pain that normally comes with tattooing.
The cost of the tattoo is absorbed through ongoing funding from Eagle Ridge Hospital Foundation.
“For many patients, this program is the final step in their recovery journey—when they start to feel like themselves again. It’s about restoring confidence, dignity, and identity. Because of our donors, the Foundation is able to provide this transformational care right here at Eagle Ridge Hospital, and we’re incredibly proud to fully fund it,” noted Kristina Chung, executive director of the Eagle Ridge Hospital Foundation.
Since facial skin is exposed to light, sunscreen and other elements, tattoos often need touching up.
About an hour after Matheson checked in for his touch up, he had a new tattoo complete with a few tiny black dots mimicking his facial hair.
“It’s probably not the skull and crossbones my granddaughter was expecting, but wow, it looks great,” he said, noting that this service has really helped him in his healing journey from cancer.
The Facial Aesthetic Medical Tattoo Program is available to cancer patients throughout the Lower Mainland referred by a surgeon.
For more information on how to support this program, call 604-469-3128 or visit Eagle Ridge Hospital Foundation.
