When Molly Ortwein was diagnosed with breast cancer, she was told she only had 10 days to keep her breasts. She knew that mastectomy scars would be a daily reminder of her suffering and wanted something new to take their place. Her brother-in-law and Loyola alumnus Noel Franus was there to help.
In this devastating time for Ortwein and their family, Franus saw an opportunity for positive change.
“It occurred to me that there must be thousands, maybe even millions of Mollys. I wanted to find a way to inspire breast cancer survivors and provide them with options to cover their scars,” Franus said.
Franus, A’93 in mass communication, created the organization P.INK, which stands for Personal Ink. This Pinterest platform provides mastectomy patients with tattoo information. It also puts survivors in contact with tattoo artists to make beautiful art in place of their scars.
“P.INK matches tattoo artists from all over the country with breast cancer survivors. Artists who never thought they could help are giving these women one of the greatest gifts, confidence with their new bodies,” Franus said.
Franus is the vice president experience director at advertising agency Crispin Porter & Bogusky. Two years ago, he pitched his Personal Ink idea to the CEO and heads of the agency.
“Here I am, talking about breasts and nipples to over 1,000 people,” Franus said. “However, when it’s a cause so close to your heart, the taboo melts away.”
Fortunately, everyone was on board and P.INK was formally launched at the beginning of 2013.
“This was really such a passion project for everyone involved. Before, it was frustrating to me that I couldn’t do anything for people like Molly. I hated feeling so powerless. With P.INK, I feel like we can make a difference for these women,” Franus said.
After two years of healing, Molly flew to Miami to be tattooed by Colby Butler, of the tattoo studio UnFamous Miami. After a seven hour tattooing, Molly’s scars were covered up and beautiful flowers took their place. She turned something painful into art.
Ortwein couldn’t be happier. She said she loves Brazil so much and is really looking forward to marching around the beach topless, with no reserves.
Along with his passions for P.INK, Franus gets a thrill from his job at Crispin Porter & Bogusky. He is constantly looking for new opportunities to connect brands with people. Franus has invented crowd favorites like the Domino’s Pizza Tracker and Pizza Hero iPad game.
“I wanted to make things that people can actually use. Domino’s actually hired 37 people off Pizza Hero, which I think is awesome,” Franus said.
Franus credits much of his devotion to bettering the lives of others to his undergraduate experience at Loyola and a special bond with Professor and former LUCAP Director Al Alcazar.
“What I most took away from Loyola was a commitment to service. I was deeply involved in organizations like LUCAP. It makes me feel great that I am now able to help breast cancer survivors. I learned this empathy early on at Loyola,” Franus said.
With over 900 Pinterest followers, P.INK is inspiring the lives of breast cancer survivors one beautiful tattoo at a time.
Melanie Potter can be reached at [email protected]
Molly Ortwein, a double mastectomy patient, has her breasts tattooed by UnFamous Miami’s Colby Butler. The inspiration behind Ortwein’s tattoo was Brazil’s pernambuco blossom. (PHOTO COURTESY OF NOEL FRANUS)
Molly Ortwein tries on a stencil of her tattoo before her seven hour session with Colby Butler. Ortwein was the inspiration for P.INK, an organization which matches mastectomy patients with tattoo artists. (NOEL FRANUS)
