SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Sometimes a tattoo can be a spur-of-the-moment decision, but for others, there's a message behind the ink.
“That's how people tell what they have gone through," said Hildegard Koenig, co-founder of Ink Against Cancer Foundation. "Some people put their art in their home, and some people put their art on their body.”
Ink Against Cancer held a fundraiser at The Gateway on Sunday. The Foundation relies on the community to provide resources for families facing cancer. All of the proceeds from their tattoos go directly to those families.
“They may need assistance with their rent," Koenig said. "Sometimes it's a meal because they just went through the treatment, and they have a family. Sometimes when they need gas, they are not able to pay their gas because they just pay for their medication.”
Some of the tattoo artists have a personal tie to cancer. For Mike Johnson, Breast Cancer Awareness Month hits close to home.
“I've had patients who've had mastectomies twice, and I've done their reconstruction twice," he said.
Johnson uses 3D repigmentation to help patients feel some sort of normalcy, and some stories will stay with him forever.
"She said, 'The reason why you do this is because for the first time in 20 years, when I got out of the shower, I covered up as I walked past the mirror.' She said that's the first time I felt like a woman," Johnson said.
Across the room, Emily Zupan was tattooing, and she always has someone in mind every time she picks up the tattoo gun.
“Both of my parents are affected by cancer," Zupan said. "It means the world to have community and to have people that understand what you're going through and to know that people actually care about you when you're in your darkest times.”
No matter the backstory, each member of the foundation has one ultimate goal.
“A lot of times when you're going through medical stuff, you feel so isolated and you feel lonely," Koenig said. "We want to be able to help that little moment, whatever that is, to know that they're not alone through this fight.”
To support the foundation, you can visit: https://www.inkagainstcancer.com.