One local Ames tattoo and body piercing shop is offering a new way to support breast cancer awareness in October — free tattoos.

The Asylum, 111 Welch Ave., is inking specific breast cancer tattoos free of charge to Ames students and community members.

The shop will provide customers with designs of the breast cancer awareness symbol, the pink ribbon, that are two inches in length.

Chuck Yeager, employee at The Asylum, said there are many motivations for supporting breast cancer.

With one in 10 women developing some form of breast cancer during her lifetime, The Asylum tattoo and body piercing shop wanted to offer a new, unique approach to support breast cancer awareness.

Yeager came up with the idea four months ago, hopeful that the owners would support it. Having witnessed the pains of breast cancer through the stories of his customers and even his own cousin, Yeager thought offering the tattoos free of charge would be a great way for even more members of the Ames community to support this great cause.

“Breast cancer tattoos are already very common,” Yeager said. “We usually do two to three a month throughout the year but we’ve already done 15 this month.”

Yeager thought offering the tattoos free of charge would allow the tattoo artists to get to know their customers on an even more personal basis and open up the doors for more support for the cause.

Yeager said people have been coming in for years getting breast cancer-related tattoos. Whether it be in the memory of those lost to the disease, in support of those currently battling it or in celebration of the survival of loved ones, members of the community affected by breast cancer have been expressing their support for the cause through the artwork of The Asylum.

“People come in and share their stories with us. We get to understand the battle they went through and how emotional their struggle was,” Yeager said.

The Asylum will also be offering reasonable discounts for other breast cancer-related tattoos.

“Some people may want to get a year, date or something else like that. We will work with people on pricing,” Yeager said.

The Asylum is a state licensed and inspected tattoo shop and every artist employed there is licensed to distribute his or her tattoo artwork in the state of Iowa. No appointment is necessary to get a tattoo, and the only thing a customer needs to bring is a photo ID to prove he or she is at least 18 years of age.