This Woman’s Mermaid Halloween Costume Puts Her Mastectomy Scar on Full Display

Halloween is here, which means when you walk outside, you might see people dressed up as zombies, witches, and one-breasted mermaids. Wait, what? Yep, you read that right. That’s the badass costume breast cancer survivor Melissa Jansen is rocking this year, and it intentionally puts her mastectomy scar on full display.

In a recent Instagram post, Jansen said that one morning she walked down to the beach to strut her stuff and take some photos in her costume. She went early, thinking she could get some shots before lots of beach-goers arrived.

“I was so wrong,” she wrote. “There happens to be a lot of people walking before sunrise on a weekday, and although I was scared of people seeing me exposed, I still felt the need after making the costume to take the photos.”

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A LESSON ON ALLOWING OTHERS TO SEE MY SCAR: Halloween is almost here and inspired by @marianneduquettecuozzo9128 and her beautiful art I headed down the the beach to do a shoot as a one breasted mermaid. I went early in the morning thinking I could run down and get some shots with no one around. I was so wrong. There happens to be a lot of people walking before sunrise on a weekday and although I was scared of people seeing me exposed I still felt the need after making the costume to take the photos. What happened instead was surprising. People stopped to watch. One woman told me I was inspiring and brave. When I stepped onto the beach I was wrapped & covered up. By the time I was done I left in this costume and nothing covering me. As I walked up the stairs to get back to my car four men were heading down. One said “Hey, it’s a mermaid!” Another “you look great!” #healingfrombreastcancer #onebreastedmermaid #mermaidinpismo #whpdressup #halloweencostume #idontneedtwo #unilateralmastectomy #flattiesunite

A post shared by Melissa Jansen (@idontneedtwo) on

So that’s exactly what she did. Jansen posed for the fierce photos you see above and pushed herself to not care how others would react. She knew she looked amazing, and that’s all that really mattered.

People did stop to watch, but to her surprise, they cheered her on. “One woman told me I was inspiring and brave,” she wrote. “When I stepped onto the beach I was wrapped and covered up. By the time I was done, I left in this costume and nothing covering me.”

What started as a discreet photo shoot turned out to be a serious confidence boost for Jansen—a perfect example of why we should always try do the things that scare us.

Her admirers didn’t stop there, she wrote. As she walked back to her car, four men were heading down to the beach. One said “Hey, it’s a mermaid,” and another joined in with “You look great!” We couldn’t agree more.

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