Talking Nipple Tattoos after Breast Cancer on Let’s Talk Live

This morning I had the pleasure of chatting with Melanie and Rachel on the set of Let’s Talk Live about my experience at Little Vinnie’s Tattoo shop. Definitely a delicate subject, but in the past few months, I have been surprised by how many women who have gone through the many steps of reconstruction following breast cancer are unaware of their options for nipple tattooing.

I have to confess being a little starstruck by all the behind the scenes views…

I also have to confess about being a little nervous– I’m happy to talk to people about just about anything, but this is TV. In the internet age. One blunder can live on forever.  I talked to a friend who is a news producer, and was so thankful for her advice and encouragement. She told me not to over-prepare, just to treat it like a conversation with a friend.  I mostly tried to think of things people might want to know and make sure that I had an idea of what I might say.

The only place I came up blank was on the “why” question.  Why would I want to talk about nipples on TV? Why do I blog at all? I’m not really interested in my fifteen minutes of fame, though I guess all the nipple talk could get me that.  As always, needing to write something in this blog (or, in this case, say it on TV) helped me realize something for myself. Thanks to my education, I had an uncommon confidence in my diagnosis and treatment. For the most part, I knew what to expect, and that made it so much less scary. Years ago, in graduate school, when I thought I would like to help educate patients, caregivers, and advocates, I was focused more on education for the sake of knowledge.  Now with the understanding of a patient, I want to educate for the sake of the patient– I want to help other women find the confidence I had.

If you didn’t catch the interview live, never fear, it lives online for all to see.  And if you’re looking for someone to talk about her fake nipples to your elementary school assembly or church group, get in touch and my people* will get back to you.  Because I’m sure that talking about nipples in public is a highly marketable skill.

*And when I say “my people” will get back to you, I totally mean me.  If I had people, they would clean my bathroom and I would still answer my own emails.