A BREAST cancer survivor has hit out at Facebook's censorship after the social media giant labelled pictures of her areola tattoos as 'pornographic'.

Adele Dean, who had both her breasts removed after being diagnosed with cancer, is backing growing calls to allow pictures of tattooed nipples to be shared online.

The Barrow woman said she was left 'feeling freakish' after the operation but had gained confidence after undergoing the post-mastectomy procedure by Walney's Kerry Wilkinson.

“Every woman’s dread is losing their hair or their breasts," said Mrs Dean.

"Breast cancer took both from me.

“My surgeon had managed to use my own nipples in the reconstruction, but I felt uneven. One nipple was left looking erect and the other was flat. I felt freakish. I also felt I shouldn’t complain as my surgeon had saved my life and I should just be grateful.

“I had previously had very large breasts and they made me feel feminine so having these little funny shaped mounds was strange and it didn't make me feel like a woman anymore.

“I was overwhelmed at the result as Kerry had miraculously managed to make my areola look the same and they even looked more level."

Ms Wilkinson, 33, owner of Wilkinson Aesthetics, artistically tattoos areola's on women who have had a mastectomies from breast cancer to make them feel more confident.

She uses Facebook as a platform to share her tattoo nipple work to inspire other women that they can feel better about their breasts.

However, her account has been suspended by Facebook due to her pictures deeming as pornographic and breaching Facebook rules.

“Women that have experienced a mastectomy and cancer can often feel very alone at this time of their life and it is comforting for them to see there’s other women out there needing the same support and to access the treatments available," she said.

"When women share their pictures they feel empowered and inspire other women to take the brave step.”

“Facebook are cracking down on areola mastectomy pictures and this has led to massive protests," she said.

“Everytime I upload a picture of the tattoos I get banned for 30 days.

“Clients can message me and see that I’ve read it but I can't message them back so it looks like I’m ignoring them. Just imagine that people are going through the battle of cancer and it says that I’ve left them on read.

“They could have been working their courage up for months.

“Survivors should be able to rejoice but every time a picture gets taken down, clients wonder if they should be ashamed.

“We need Facebook to be able to share our journeys and inspire others. It’s art.

“Each time I post a picture of the areola before and after reconstruction. The post is suspended and under review as it is deemed pornographic under Facebook’s guidelines.

“Facebook’s guidelines states it is okay to post ‘breastfeeding, birth giving and after birth moments... health related situations’.

"I may be wrong but if a double mastectomy isn’t health related than I don’t know what is.

A Facebook spokesman said: “While we are still investigating Kerry’s case, our nudity policies are clear that we do make exceptions for posts which are clearly intended as medical or educational – this can include images of post-mastectomy areola tattoos.”