Caitlin Whyte (Host): Welcome to In Their Words, a podcast brought to you by the UPMC Pinnacle Foundation and UPMC in Central PA.

Today we're speaking with Donna Harvat, an occupational therapist, certified hand therapist, and micro-pigmentation artist at UPMC's Hillman Breast Care Center, where healing meets artistry in the most profound way.

Donna Harvat Medical Micropigmentation Artist: I'm an occupational therapist and a certified hand therapist for over, oh gosh, 35 years now. And I, at one point, have, it was in 2016, had the opportunity to speak with one of the breast surgeons and I became interested in doing the micropigmentation. So I am also a micropigmentation artist at UPMC at the breast care center.

 So for the micropigmentation, the way I was introduced to it, I was watching the news and it was a new spot about this guy, Vinny down in Baltimore who does micropigmentation for breast care patients and it sparked my interest because I'm an artist at heart. And I had the opportunity to speak with one of the breast surgeons and asked if they had anything like that at the breast care center.

And at that time, they did not. And I suggested that they should have something like that for the patients, and this surgeon agreed, and within three weeks of that conversation, I was away at school learning how to do the makeup part of it, the facial part of the micropigmentation at Bow Institute in Mount Laurel, New Jersey.

They have since... Moved to Cherry Hill, New Jersey. And a month later, I went back and learned the breast 3D micropigmentation. So that was more advanced learning. So it is tattooing. And the difference is, we don't use ink, we use pigment, and pigment has a heavier molecular number than ink, so it does stay where you put it, rather than, you know, sometimes you see old tattoos and they're bled out. This will stay where you put it. It lasts about two years, and it fades, and then you would need to have a touch up.

So when I'm speaking with a client to decide what size, I have a template for them to choose from for circles, to, say, hey, when you had a nipple or an areola, what size did you, do you remember it being? Or can you tell me the size of the nipple? Can you tell me the size of the areola? And let them choose. And then I draw it on with an eyebrow pencil or just draw it on with a makeup pencil. Let them look at it in the mirror so they can see does that size fit their current breast that they have. And, sometimes if it's somebody that has a unilateral breast reconstruction, then I can just look at the other one that's left and choose the size that way.

And as far as the color, I ask them, do you remember them being more pink or more on the brown tones? And we just discuss it and I mix up a couple of different colors and I usually test on their skin on their forearm because their volar forearm is very similar to the skin on their chest.

So I will just draw like I would be tattooing, draw the nipple and the areola on their skin and say, what do you think of those colors? Now, that being said, the pigment does lighten about 40 to 60 percent after it's healed, so it won't be the identical color that I'm doing, but from having experience, I know what the color is going to end up being.

So, that all plays into it.

Host: Donna's journey into micro-pigmentation began with a chance glimpse of a news story and the spark of her artistic passion. What followed was specialized training and the development of a service that has not only transformed the physical appearance of breast cancer patients throughout central Pennsylvania, but has helped restore their sense of self during one of life's most challenging battles.

Donna Harvat Medical Micropigmentation Artist: Hillman Breast Care Center, and that's... on the east shore, for those of you who like to travel the river. And I do it in their procedure room. So where it's in the room where they would actually do biopsies. So they give me that space on Tuesday mornings is when I use that space. And so it's a clean, sterile environment.

So it's not like a tattoo parlor looking environment for this procedure. It's the office where physicians, nurses, CNAs, everybody, we all kind of work together. They know the patients prior to me knowing them. So the patients are generally very familiar with the area. Sometimes we get patients from the UPMC in York or Carlisle who haven't been to this center, but they are familiar with UPMC in general, so they feel very comfortable in the space.

A lot of patients find out me, about me, through the flyer that is posted on the room cabinets, I believe. Or if they happen to mention it to their physician, the physician will say, oh yeah, we have that service. And, surprisingly, I've heard a lot of people who don't get a referral and just hear from other patients or in my occupational therapy practice, I'm also ReVital certified and I have told patients about the service.

So it's kind of a cool thing that I can treat patients for their scars or for lymphedema or whatever, but then say, Hey, we have this service where I do this and I can give you eyebrows so you don't have to draw them on, or I can give you eyeliner so you don't have to draw that on if their lashes don't come back.

 I've had family members who have had cancer, and I've seen the struggles, and I've seen, just from my patients, the fulfillment of their self esteem heightening when they see themselves after the micropigmentation process.

 Eyebrows are such an expression, a expression of you. When we talk, we don't think about it, but our eyebrows kind of give inflection to what we're saying, and that is something that is essential for communication, to some degree. And when you look in your, at yourself in the mirror and you don't even recognize the person that's looking back at you until you have eyebrows drawn back on to make you feel even though you previously thought that that wasn't important, it does make you feel like the person you were before.

And, the same thing with the areola and the nipple tattooing. If, most women don't stand and stare at themselves in the mirror when they get out of the shower, but if you happen to glance at yourself when you're getting out of the shower and there's nothing there, you notice. And, when I give that back to women, they just kind of feel whole again. It just makes them feel more like themselves.

It's kind of like a little pampering and like the icing on the cake after their chemo is all finished and they are ready to move the next step, you know, it's shutting that door and opening up a new one. And I should mention too, that I have recently been, like within the last year, been tattooing patients prior to their chemotherapy for their eyebrows.

So, they anticipate they're going to... lose their eyebrows or they don't have a bunch of eyebrows to begin with, and, that's something that I've had a request for tattooing prior to they're starting chemotherapy. And that's been pretty successful with the patients not having to worry about, oh, what am I going to look like when I lose my eyebrows? Cause they're going to be there.

I think the Foundation is amazing that for all of the things that the Foundation does for people from helping out with their electric bill or helping out with gas to go to their appointments or whatever. I think that's pretty amazing.

Host: What makes Donna's work truly remarkable is how it helps patients reclaim their identity after cancer has attempted to redefine them. For many who have endured the physical and emotional trauma of breast cancer and reconstruction, micro-pigmentation represents more than cosmetic enhancement.

It's the final brushstroke in their masterpiece of healing, helping them feel whole once again.

Donna Harvat Medical Micropigmentation Artist: Oh my gosh, it's so rewarding. That's why I do it. It is rewarding for me to see the joy on their face when they look in the mirror and they see either the eyebrows or the eyeliner or the areola, you know, they just, words just can't describe how happy it makes me feel and to see them so joyful about what they're looking at.

And, I'm a little bit of a perfectionist and I strive to make each individual hair stroke look like hair and try to do the 3D areola and nipples so it looks real. And, I even had one patient tell me that her plastic surgeon came into the room and for her follow up check up or something, and actually went up and touched it to see because he couldn't believe it wasn't a real aerola and nipple, because, I do strive for perfection.

I do still plan on doing the tattooing as long as I'm physically able to do it and as long as I'm in this area.

Host: Donna's story truly exemplifies the comprehensive compassionate care that UPMC strives to provide. In Donna's skilled hands, we see how medical innovation and human connection come together to honor the whole person, helping cancer survivors not just recover, but truly but truly flourish in Central Pennsylvania and beyond.

Thank you for listening to, in Their Words. If you found Donna's story as inspiring as we did, please take a moment to like, rate, review, and subscribe to our podcast wherever you get your podcasts. By sharing these powerful stories of healing and hope, you help us reach more people who might benefit from these incredible services. Until next time, this is In Their Words, brought to you by the UPMC Pinnacle Foundation and UPMC in Central PA.