By Mandy Whitburn
Over the last 12 months the Magenta team have been crocheting squares in various shades of Magenta for a large blanket to be donated to Breast Cancer Now. The plan was for them to use this to raise charity funds or to donate to someone who may appreciate a “woolly hug”.
After contacting them to discuss the plans for the blanket, I was invited to join a “Moving Forward” course hosted by Breast Cancer Now to present one of the ladies with a crochet blanket that the team at Magenta made – as part of a raffle.
The Moving Forward course is a four-week course that helps, mostly women (although men can get breast cancer too), deal with everything that is likely to happen to them both during and after cancer treatment. It covers issues such as treatment, drugs, fatigue, intimacy issues and much more.
The event was amazing and I felt very honoured to be involved!! What struck me was the relationships that had been built so quickly. By only week 4 of the course, these ladies had bonded strong friendships among themselves and it felt like no subject was taboo. All of these ladies were inspiring each other with positivity – with the support from the charity.
Why did we chose to help Breast Cancer Now?
Breast Cancer Now is close to my heart because my niece was diagnosed in February 2014. She’s thankfully been clear from cancer now for several years, but she really benefited from the Moving Forward course when she was poorly. She is now regional volunteer fundraiser for her area in South London and has raised over £25,000 to help research and provide support for others.
What else can be done to help?
There are many other items that can be crafted that these ladies (and gents) can use – such as heart shaped pillows to go under the affected arm post-surgery and over the shoulder drain bags for use when they are in hospital so they can walk around freely.
Magenta will be looking at crafting more, if we can! If you’d like to know more and how to get a pattern for these, just drop us an email hello@magentafp.com
Who received our blanket?
All of the ladies were invited to take a raffle ticket – free of charge – if they wanted to be in with a chance of receiving the blanket and they all did! Janice, who won the raffle was especially thrilled to win our blanket, as she was the last to arrive at the session so the last to get a ticket. She was such a lovely lady and we had a long chat about where she was on her journey.
The diagnosis of Breast Cancer affects people in so many ways and whilst her surgery may not have been as major as others in the group the psychological impact was very obvious. She was struggling with anxiety and a ‘woolly hug’ was just what she needed – she even said it might inspire her to pick up a crochet hook herself and give it a go as it is a great form of mindfulness.
Magenta are thrilled to have been able to have such a positive impact for this group of ladies and we hope to support the charity again in the near future. If you’d like to know more about Breast Cancer Now, here’s the link to their website https://breastcancernow.org/