When Tracy's mother was diagnosed with cancer, somebody crocheted a hat for her. Tracy and her mother were touched by this simple, heartwarming gift and decided to pay it forward by crocheting hats for other cancer patients. They came up with their own website, CrochetForCancer.com where they ask readers to participate by donating crocheted hats. To help increase donations, they offer links for crocheted hat patterns.
As one who will be taking chemo pills until July of 2015 for breast cancer, I know firsthand how important head coverings are for cancer patients. I was bald for several months, but I was lucky – I didn't have to purchase wigs, hats, or scarves, because I was blessed with kind and generous friends and family members who bought me a wig, a couple of hats, and several scarves.
Wigs can be bothersome for cancer patients whose hair eventually grows back, because hair sticks inside the tiny webbing and causes the head to itch. Scarves, while beautiful, don't always stay on slippery bald heads, something I discovered once when I was driving with my window rolled down.
Hats tend to stay on the head and I wore hats most of the time – which worked well during the winter months – having had a thick head of hair for most of my life, I was surprised by how the cold affected my head when I lost all of my hair – and I genuinely appreciated those hats.
One thing cancer patients don't want is a hat filled with so many openings that their bald heads can be seen through the holes. If you decide to crochet hats for cancer patients, please make sure your weave is tight. Single crocheted hats work well, though a bulky yarn using a double crochet will work well in the winter months. When you crochet a hat, make sure it covers the head from the forehead to the nape of the neck.
Also, since summer is just around the corner, crocheting with 100% cotton or 100% silk will help the cancer patient be comfortable during the hot sticky summer months (100% silk yarn, however, is difficult to find; it is also very expensive).
Want to become involved in Crochet for Cancer's cause? According to Crochet for Cancer's FaceBook page, "We primarily donate items to centers in Georgia and Indiana but hope to one day spread our passion into each state." If you want to expand to your state, please contact Crochet for Cancer by sending an email to info@crochetforcancer.com.
The preceding blog appears in both Your Blog Connection and All Craft Connection.
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