Lebanese tattoo artist helps breast cancer survivors to heal

Lebanese tattoo artist Joa Antoun attends an interview with Reuters at her studio in Dekwaneh, Lebanon March 11, 2022. Picture taken March 11, 2022. REUTERS/Emilie Madi

BEIRUT (Reuters) - For Lebanese breast cancer survivor Roula Saad, a decade-long struggle with the disease was not over until tattoo artist Joa Antoun concealed her surgical scars, helping her deal with the physical and psychological impact of a double mastectomy.

"I hated looking at myself in the mirror, I changed a lot. I felt I was forced to live in a state of grief, I was mourning my femininity and the loss of part of my body," Saad said. "I was not reconciled with myself at all, nor with my own image."