Local tattoo artist is looking to give back to the community

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) -Cancer is emotionally and physically impactful.

Not only can it strip away the physical health of a person but it can also take away confidence by altering physical appearance. Microblading, which is a form of semi-permanent tattooing by filling and reconstructing the eyebrows with thin strokes of ink can help rebuild that confidence for chemo and cancer patients who have lost their eyebrows.

Self-taught artist Emma Madsen’s journey with this type of tattooing started when her cousin and a family friend were both diagnosed with cancer. “New Underwood is such a small community that everyone is practically a family, so you kind of see firsthand how cancer and how chemo affects, you know your love ones and I feel like cancer it doesn’t really hit you until you or your loved one is affected by it,” Madsen stated adding that for her micro blading for cancer and chemo patients is a way to give back. And with each appointment, this mission grows.

Emma spoke about a client who had come to her years after her treatment “She had skin cancer and the hair never grew back on her eyebrows so I have seen the difference, her eyebrows had very spare hair to begin with and when we added those strokes and her confidence boosted a lot.”

Madsen is now working with Monument Health... Madsen will now be able to offer free micro blading to 10 of their patients. She hopes that in the future, they will be able to provide this service to many more. She stated, “But on my end, I’ll be offering free microblading to chemo patients or cancer patients who reach out to me, I’m hoping to further this for as long as I can and eventually we’re hoping that Monument will allow me to go into the hospital and provide the service.”

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