When Dana Grey was a junior in high school, his best friend was diagnosed with breast cancer.

His best friend is his mother.

Although Grey, a freshman broadcast and digital journalism major, had never considered getting a tattoo before, he changed his mind a little more than a year after his mom was diagnosed. At the end of this past summer, he decided to tattoo the pink breast cancer ribbon on the inside of his right foot.

Following his mother’s diagnosis in March 2014, she had successful surgery that May and has been undergoing various forms of chemotherapy ever since, Grey said. Because the two are very close, Grey said it was difficult to see his mother go through the battle with cancer.

“She had been my rock for 17 years,” Grey said. “There were a lot of bad days and not many good days, but she fought and she beat that cancer.”

It was the strength his mother showed that inspired Grey to get the tattoo.

Grey said he knew the foot is one of the most painful parts of the body to get a tattoo, and didn’t tell his parents he was even considering getting one. Still, Grey said he was 100 percent sure he wanted the tattoo and would be happy having it for the rest of his life.

When Grey first showed his mother the tattoo, he said, all she did was cry.

Despite still being in recovery two weeks after surgery, Grey’s mother still made sure to attend his a cappella concert.

“She had shaved her head already and was still in a lot of pain,” Grey recalled, “but she still came to support and didn’t care about the way people looked at her.”

Grey said he admires how his mother always kept her head held high despite how much her life was going to change because of the cancer.

To Grey, the breast cancer tattoo makes him feel as if his mother is with him, supporting him every day despite living in a different state.

Said Grey: “I’m reminded every day of her fight, and I’m inspired incredibly.”

Published on March 8, 2016 at 12:01 am

Contact: lmeyers@syr.edu