Ami Salmen isnB次元官网网址檛 your average 28-year-old. Not only is she currently first in her group in the national B次元官网网址業nkedB次元官网网址� competition, but she also just beat a very rare and aggressive form of breast cancer.
Inked Magazine is currently holding its annual online competition to find a tattooed model to appear on its cover. The winner is decided by public online votes. As well as appearing on the cover, the winner will also take home a grand prize of $25,000.
SalmenB次元官网网址檚 story has struck a chord with the public, and she is in the running for the top 15.
Salmen says her tattoos have helped her to accept her new body, and keep loving herself throughout her breast cancer journey.
B次元官网网址淚 got my first tattoo at age 16, and since then IB次元官网网址檝e gotten so many more. I have them all over. My legs, my chest, my arms, the back of my neck, my ribs and sides,B次元官网网址� Salmen said. B次元官网网址淢ost of them are memorial tattoos and a lot of them have different meanings.B次元官网网址�
She says if she had to choose a favourite tattoo, it would be one on her left leg.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a memorial for an uncle figure of mine who passed away. He lived on the Steeples Ranch, I practically grew up there. The tattoo has the mountains and critters B次元官网网址� itB次元官网网址檚 really symbolic of him and my upbringing.B次元官网网址�
The top 10 will be decided on Feb. 10, the top five on Feb. 17, and voting for the finals takes place from March 11 to 17. You can vote for Salmen
Salmen, originally from Cranbrook, moved to Kelowna in 2013. She didnB次元官网网址檛 plan on entering the Inked competition B次元官网网址� it was her friendB次元官网网址檚 idea. But she says sheB次元官网网址檚 been surprised by the amount of support she has received.
Salmen says she would donate some of the funds, save some, and use some to take her best friend on a trip.
B次元官网网址淚 would donate five to seven thousand to the BC Cancer Society. They have helped me so much. There are different fundraising streams through the society, and some cancers donB次元官网网址檛 receive as much funding as others,B次元官网网址� Salmen said. B次元官网网址淚 also would take my best friend on a trip. She held my hair, so to speak, the hair I didnB次元官网网址檛 have, through all of my cancer treatments. I donB次元官网网址檛 have family that lives close by.B次元官网网址�
Salmen says that entering the Inked competition has allowed her to share her breast cancer story B次元官网网址� something she wants to raise more awareness of.
B次元官网网址淐ancer doesnB次元官网网址檛 discriminate. It can hit any person at any age, any time,B次元官网网址� she said.
Salmen has spent the last year and a half going through chemo, radiation and multiple surgeries. She was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer, a very rare and aggressive form. The type of cancer she was diagnosed with has a 75 per cent recurrence rate within the first five years. If it comes back, the survival rate is just ten per cent.
B次元官网网址淚 was sitting in bed one day, just watching a show or something, and I went to itch my arm. I felt a hard lump, about the size of a pea,B次元官网网址� Salmen said of day one of her journey. B次元官网网址淚 made an appointment and got in a few days later. My doctor found another lump, and so I went in for an ultrasound.
B次元官网网址淚 wasnB次元官网网址檛 even home from the ultrasound appointment when they called back. One week later, November 26th, I was diagnosed.B次元官网网址�
From then on it was appointment after appointment. Salmen was told sheB次元官网网址檇 have to undergo four to six months of chemo, plus radiation and surgeries.
B次元官网网址淚 stopped work on December 15th, and started chemo on January 8th. I finished chemo in April. It sucked. It started with this really nasty drug that they call the red devil,B次元官网网址� Salmen said, shuddering. B次元官网网址淟et me tell you B次元官网网址� it makes, you, sick.B次元官网网址�
Three days after her second treatment, her hair began falling out.
B次元官网网址淚t was traumatic. ItB次元官网网址檚 just like you see in the movies, big chunks falling out at once. Within a few days it was all gone,B次元官网网址� Salmen recalled. B次元官网网址淭he next round of chemo was a lot easier, but I had allergies to it and it made me super itchy. At least I was strong enough to go for walks outside and start to live a little more normally. I also had a full response to that treatment, which is good.B次元官网网址�
Next came her first surgery B次元官网网址� a double bilateral mastectomy.
B次元官网网址淎fter that process I started radiation. It took five weeks, every day from Monday to Friday. The radiation itself wasnB次元官网网址檛 so bad, but the healing process was almost unbearable. My skin was peeling and flaking, itB次元官网网址檚 still really scarred.B次元官网网址�
Now, almost two years later, Salmen goes for her final reconstructive surgery in March.
B次元官网网址淚 was 26 when I was diagnosed and I just turned 28 a few weeks ago,B次元官网网址� Salmen said. B次元官网网址淚 donB次元官网网址檛 have the mutated gene, and IB次元官网网址檓 first in my family to get it. Right now IB次元官网网址檓 feeling good; I get tired easily. My doctors are very happy with everything and my oncologist is absolutely on it.B次元官网网址�
READ:
Being so young, Salmen explained that part of the chemo treatment involves induced menopause, with the goal of hopefully saving her uterus and ovaries.
B次元官网网址淚 had 17 eggs frozen, in case,B次元官网网址� Salmen said, adding that there is a monthly cost to keep them frozen. B次元官网网址淐ancer is expensive. Luckily, for me, my treatments were covered. But not everyone is. It can cost 10 to 15 thousand dollars for each treatment. Anti-nausea pills are $122 for three pills. I had a GoFundMe page, and my friends set up a fundraiser raffle. I was blown away by their support.B次元官网网址�
Salmen also met a new friend while going through treatments. This friend is the same age with a similar form of cancer. Salmen says her friendB次元官网网址檚 doctor didnB次元官网网址檛 take her seriously until her cancerous lump was the size of a lemon.
B次元官网网址淭he doctors told her she was too young to have breast cancer,B次元官网网址� Salmen said.
Referencing the fact that her cancer could return within the next five years, SalmenB次元官网网址檚 advice for herself, and everyone else, is to live life with passion and purpose.
B次元官网网址淚 try to stay positive in everything I do. Even through all of this, I only cried twice - when I lost my hair and after my first surgery. But your attitude is half the battle. I thought, well, at least I wonB次元官网网址檛 have to buy shampoo for a while,B次元官网网址� she explained. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 in a mode to get things done. You just donB次元官网网址檛 know. I canB次元官网网址檛 wait to get back to work full-time. I have so many goals. I want to travel. I have so many things I want to doB次元官网网址 want to be open about my story and want to spread awareness.B次元官网网址�
Inked is a tattoo lifestyle digital media company that bills itself as the B次元官网网址榦utsidersB次元官网网址� insider media. Covering music, fashion, art, sports and the rest of the lifestyle of the tattooed, Inked has made the transition from the newsstand to digital media company, and a brand that sits among magazines like GQ and Vanity Fair, according to Wikipedia.
corey.bullock@cranbrooktownsman.com
Like us on and follow us on
Want to support local journalism during the pandemic? Make a donation
