Harriet Trewhitt discovered the semicolon tattoo on her arm had transferred to her tongue following cancer treatment. The 21-year-old acting student from the UK underwent a six-hour operation in August after being diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma in May. Surgeons removed half her tongue and used skin and blood vessels from her left arm for reconstruction. “They took skin and blood vessels from my left arm and reconstructed half of my tongue. I didn’t know you could do that until they did,” Trewhitt told SWNS. The tattoo, which she got at 18 to represent resilience against depression, now sits “on the right side of my tongue, underneath and towards the back.” She called the experience “unbelievable” and joked it makes a “good dating anecdote.” Trewhitt received the all-clear from cancer and continues speech therapy while preparing for her 2026 master’s degree. (Story URL)
Student’s Arm Tattoo Ends Up On Tongue After Cancer Surgery
Dec 9, 2025 | 7:01 PM