10 March 2024 , 13:04
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A mum who discovered she had breast cancer while breastfeeding her baby boy has revealed how she loves to show off the tattoo she got to cover her mastectomy scar.
Sheryl Martin, 42, initially thought her sore breasts were due to changes after pregnancy. But when she found a lump in her breast while feeding her son, Finn, now five, she decided to get it checked. After a biopsy, Sheryl was diagnosed with breast cancer - specifically ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) - in September 2019.
She underwent a mastectomy and reconstruction surgery using her own tissue, followed by chemotherapy. Sheryl planned to get a nipple tattoo but instead opted for a decorative design after her appointment was cancelled.
She got a tattoo to cover he mastectomy scar (TheShow/BreastCancerNow/SWNS)
Sheryl with her children, Finn and Bella (TheShow/BreastCancerNow/SWNS)Now free from cancer, Sheryl loves showing off her tattoo, inspired by a charity trek to Machu Picchu and featuring Peru's national flower. The mum-of-two from Kingston-upon-Thames, London, said: "To be told at 37 you've got an 80 per cent chance of being alive in five years' time, it's just horrific.
"The tattoo for me was about getting a sense of closure, regaining control - looking in the mirror and seeing something beautiful, with connections to my trip to Machu Picchu. It's really given me confidence - I'm happy to show people in a bikini and at the gym.
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"It's such a beautiful design, and I've happily lifted up my top to show friends and family. I freely get changed in the gym changing room now rather than going into a separate cubicle and have been asked about it by fellow gym goers."
Sheryl first noticed something was wrong when she was breastfeeding her little boy, Finn. She said: "Even when I went to the GP, he said it's probably just from feeding. But their protocol is to send you to the breast screening department."
Sheryl in sunglasses during treatment (TheShow/BreastCancerNow/SWNS)
Sheryl on her 40th birthday (TheShow/BreastCancerNow/SWNS)After a biopsy, Sheryl was still convinced everything was going to be fine - telling the nurse she was heading to Portugal with her best friend later in the week. She was told to come back for an appointment two days later. She said: "I felt so sick, with fear and anxiety, just thinking 'they're going to tell me I'm dying.'"
She was told she had breast cancer in September 2019 - but reassured it was in the early stages. After being offered various options, Sheryl had a mastectomy and reconstruction in November. Sheryl found the speed of everything very difficult. She said: "It was a massive thing emotionally to be getting your head around.
"It's a long recovery period, and I've got two young kids and a job." After her operation, Sheryl's doctor told her that her cancer was HER2+ - a more aggressive type - so she needed chemotherapy.
Sheryl and her friend, Anouk, on their trek to Machu Picchu in Peru (TheShow/BreastCancerNow/SWNS)
She raised £6,000 for Breast Cancer Now (TheShow/BreastCancerNow/SWNS)During her treatment, Sheryl didn't lose her hair because she used a cold cap - a device that freezes the hair follicles to stop the hair from falling out. She also hardly brushed her hair and slept on a silk pillowcase. At first, Sheryl thought about getting a nipple tattoo to replace the one she lost.
But when her appointment was cancelled during the covid lockdown, she realised she didn't want that kind of tattoo. "I wanted something more decorative," she said. In October 2022, Sheryl and her friend Anouk, 42, went on a trek to Machu Picchu in Peru and raised £6k for Breast Cancer Now.
The trip was a "major catalyst for change" for Sheryl. When she came back, she ended her relationship and got a new job. She decided to get a tattoo of the national flowers of Peru on her breast to remember her "life-changing" trip. When her mum, Heather Martin, 63, suddenly died from a massive heart attack, the tattoo took on a new meaning - it looked like the flowers from her mum's funeral casket.
The two friends on Machu Picchu (TheShow/BreastCancerNow/SWNS)She said: "I already had a small tattoo on my back. Since getting this tattoo, I've had another one." Sheryl has a bell tattoo on her ankle, which she says stands for three things her nine year old daughter Bella, her mum's love for bell ringing, and the bell she rang at the Sun Gate in Macchu Picchu to mark the end of her fight against cancer.
"When you finish chemotherapy, you ring a bell to say your treatment is over," Sheryl explained. "But I didn't get to do that because of lockdown." Since getting her tattoos, Sheryl feels more confident and happy to show off her body.
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She also says it's made her dating life better. She shared: "I've been surprised how well men have reacted when I tell them about my diagnosis and experience while dating." In August 2023, Sheryl met her current partner, who is 46. "On our first date, I actually told him about my cancer and fake boob, which isn't usually what I talk about on a first date," she admitted.
Sheryl and others partaking in the Dragon Boat race for breast cancer survivors (TheShow/BreastCancerNow/SWNS)This April, Sheryl will be taking part in The Show by Breast Cancer Now, a fashion show featuring models who are living with or have beaten breast cancer. She said: "I want to raise awareness of breast cancer and mastectomy, and to show others the positive side of life after breast cancer.
"It's amazing to normalise different boobs. It was great to see the models with a range of flat and reconstructions and everything in between. I want to show there is life after breast cancer. And a great life it can be. You can move past it.
"I really want people to embrace opportunities in life, see the positives, take the risk, do hard things. My daughter Bella is nine now and really into fashion, so I hope seeing me up on that catwalk will inspire her."