Young tattoo artist follows her dream, opens tattoo shop despite multiple cancer diagnoses
Young Valley woman inspiring others with breast cancer
Sierra Susha has been diagnosed with breast cancer twice before her 30th birthday. That hasn't stopped her from living out her dream and inspiring others. FOX 10's Nicole Krasean has more.
PHOENIX - A young Valley woman is hoping to spread awareness after being diagnosed with breast cancer twice before the age of 30.
Sierra Susha says extreme fatigue in 2023 brought her to several doctors’ offices where her vegan diet was pointed to as a potential cause.
What they're saying:
"On January third of last year, I found a lump in my first couple of appointments. After that they were like ‘it’s fatty tissue, it’s nothing, blah blah blah, and I was like no, I wanna get a mammogram," she said.
What we know:
That mammogram led to a breast cancer diagnosis and a 10-month period during which Sierra underwent a double mastectomy, three reconstructive surgeries, and over 100 hours of medical care.
"I was finally in the clear from healing on Jan. 7 of this year, and I started to feel tired again," she said.
Scans showed that just a year after her first diagnosis Sierra’s cancer had returned and at the young age of 27, she is yet again fighting the disease.
"It sucks being this young and going through it but there’s also something empowering about being this young and going through it," she said.
Why you should care:
Sierra says she believes her age and lack of a family history of breast cancer led to the delayed scans before her first diagnosis.
"I think if I had been 50, 60, it would’ve been ‘that’s probably what it is, let’s get you in’. I think for sure, my age, and that I don’t have any family history of it, I don’t have like the gene or anything," Sierra said.
She says she’s determined to help other young women advocate for themselves and she wants to continue proving that you can follow your dreams while fighting cancer – as she was able to do with her career as a tattoo artist.
"When I was diagnosed the first time, I owned a smaller tattoo shop in Scottsdale and after I had the surgery, I was like ‘okay I just wanna do all the things that I wanted to do’ so we opened up a big shop in Phoenix and that opened in October," Susha said.
What's next:
But she says her new passion is finding answers for young women who face the same fight she’s going through.
"Especially after getting re-diagnosed, I was like there’s something that’s going on, so my goal is to kind of find these other girls that are going through it and figure out what we have in common and what our common denominator is."
Local perspective:
Sierra is going to be involved with fundraisers coming up on April 12 in Phoenix. Tickets are on sale here. Proceeds will be donated to a breast cancer fundraiser in Sierra's name.