This isn't a photo of my tattoo... this is just an octopus from an old medical text. Geez... I'm more creative than this. Give me credit.
About the tattoo…
If you read this post then you know I am getting a brain cancer-inspired tattoo. Most of the cancer tattoos I’ve seen are easy to interpret: a colored ribbon showcasing the type of cancer a person has (e.g., pink for breast cancer, gray for brain cancer). If the tattoo is in memory of a person then that person’s name and birth/death dates may also be incorporated.
My tattoo isn’t literal–you need to know me and my story to understand that it is a cancer tattoo.
On my calf you are presented with the following scene:
Near the bottom, around the ankle areas, you see bright green brain corals, which represent my brain tissue. On top of the corals, and around the leg, you see blue/purple crabs on the brain coral–this represents cancer, of course. The focal point of the tattoo is a massive–and majestic–red octopus. In nature, octopi feed on crabs, crushing their shells with their sharp beaks. Octopi are quick, smart and adaptive creatures.
The octopus in my tattoo represents a combination of things. It is the chemotherapy drug that, once passed through the blood-brain barrier, seeps through my brain tissue, finds the tentacles of my tumor, killing cancerous cells. The octopus can also represent a mental image of a smart creature protecting me from the claws of a crab.
And that octopus looks pretty fierce–who wants to mess with this guy? I’m glad he’s on my side.
Pingback: Nsoromma | moosevt
Pingback: The girl with the octopus tattoo | The Liz Army