[cancer] Getting the tattoos updated

[cancer] Getting the tattoos updated - Lakeshore — LiveJournal
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Date:	2012-01-29 07:32
Subject:	[cancer] Getting the tattoos updated
Security:	Public
Tags:	art, cancer, health, personal, photos

Yesterday I went to get my cancer scoreboard tattoos refreshed, accompanied by

mlerules, who took photos. This is a follow up on last year's ink session, adding a new one of each icon series to commemorate my 2012 chemo and surgery experiences. (See here [ jlake.com | LiveJournal ] for the original discussion of the tattoo process, along with photos.)

I am still debating whether to get the tattoo on the back of my skull. I don't have any philosophical objection to what I've been considering, I'm just trying to decide how big a pain wimp I am. You'd think after all the surgeries, I'd be accustomed to this.

Anyway, some photos…

The Sea Tramp Tattoo shop its own self.

Me filling out the "I'm not drunk" release form.

Tattoo artist Eric Quale gearing up.

Me getting the ink.

The new ink, specifically the rightmost biohazard and zodiacal cancer icons.

As usual, more at the Flickr set.

Photos © 2012 Emily Siskin, reproduced with permission.

Post A Comment | 4 Comments | | Link

User:	keikaimalu
Date:	2012-01-29 16:39 (UTC)
Subject:	(no subject)

Very cool. :)

If pain is an issue, have you considered EMLA cream? It's a topical anesthetic. You slather it on, cover it with plastic (like one of those IV cover plastic films), and wait an hour. Then, you have up to 4 hours of numbness on that site. I use the stuff anytime I encounter needles, and it works amazingly well.

Not sure how large an area of skin you can cover with it safely, though, in terms of metabolizing the lidocain-stuff. Might want to check with a doctor about that.

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User:	jaylake
Date:	2012-01-29 16:56 (UTC)
Subject:

Oh, now there's an idea. EMLA + Lorazepam, maybe... :p

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User:	keikaimalu
Date:	2012-01-29 18:37 (UTC)
Subject:	Re:

Srsly, with EMLA, you won't need Lorazepam. I used to get so stressed about blood draws and IVs that I wouldn't sleep the night before. Now, I'm relaxed even when they're about to poke me. (Well, maybe not completely. :) ) Huge difference.

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User:	adelheid_p
Date:	2012-01-30 02:13 (UTC)
Subject:	(no subject)

I've never had a tattoo but I did have to undergo about ten years of allergy shots from age 8 to 18. Much of that weekly until the last couple of years. That helped me learn how to deal with needles. Seriously, they used to have to hold me down to draw blood when I was a kid up until that point. When I was giving blood more regularly, I would sometimes freak the nurses out by watching them put the needle in. In my mind it actually helps if I know when it's happening.

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