Health Fair

Friday, May 1, 2009 there will be a Health Fair at the Allen Senior Recreation Center. We actually got a booth there this year! We'll have caps on display. We'll also have the scrapebook of how the Joyce's Chemo Cap Project started and how it is continuing. We hope to have a lot of people stop at our booth. There will be raffles at the Health Fair with donations from some of the booths. We have two beautiful lap blankets to be raffled off.

A Surviving Capper's Generosity

Today we received a nice donation of yarn and 6 caps from a capper! Claudia, from Frisco, received one of our caps last fall. She didn't like to sit around so she knit us some caps. She's a very busy lady working on a lot of projects. She had a lot of extra yarn so she wanted us to have it. We really appreciate the yarn. She's in remission right now. If anyone knows of ovarian cancer survivors, please send their story to our email so we can add it to the blog. If fact, we would like survivor stories from everyone. This blog is to help people who have, have had or have someone they love with cancer. All stories would be read. Meanwhile, thank you, Claudia, for your super donation. The yarn will make a lot of beautiful caps and the caps you made will make 'cappers' so happy! God Bless you.

True story

This true story is to make you smile. Even when things are not happy and you are frustrated, a little story may help.
A friend told me today that her friend who was in her 80s found that she had breast cancer. They performed a mastectomy on her left breast. After all was done, she was fitted with a prosthesis. My friend asked her how she was doing and how she liked her new bra. She replied "Well, it's funny. My right breast is sagging to my belly and the left one with the prosthesis is nice and pointy."

Note From a Capper's Husband

Hi
My wife is getting chemo treatment, and when we were in North Texas Cancer Center on 15th St in Plano we saw your basket and sign. She crochets blankets for Project Linus, which donates blankets to premie babies. She is also interested in making caps for your project. How do we get started?
Thanks
David


Vivian's answer to David

We use very soft yarn. Most of the yarn we use is a Hobby Lobby brand called "I Love this Yarn". Most of the ladies that make the caps live in the Allen area. We meet at the Allen Senior Center on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. We also knit or crochet at home. We would love to have your wife join our project. The need for the caps is increasing and we have been delivering around 100 a week to 5 cancer centers in this area.
Some of the ladies make the caps at home and either bring the caps to the center or mail them to our mailing address.
I am going to attach several of our crochet patterns.
If she needs more information or additional assistance please let us know.
Thank you again for wanting to join our project.
Vivian

Welcome To My World by Grangran

I found this in a website written by a woman who underwent chemo and her thoughts after. She has this website to show the steps she went through after losing her hair and the problems with her fingernails. Please check out her website. It is:
http://home.att.net/~scorh2/Cancer3.html

Here is an exerp of what she wrote:
Just some thoughts: Friends have asked me "Do you think about it everyday and are you scared? I can honestly say "NO." I've always been fairly upbeat and positive about everything. I've never felt that excessive worrying did much good in any situation. From the very beginning I've had such a sense of peace about everything: the diagnosis, the treatment and all my caregivers. For that I am so very thankful. I think I mentioned way back in the beginning that I just feel this is a pebble in my life I've got to step over. I've talked to so many folks who do nothing but feel SHEER PANIC. That would be horrible.

In some ways I'm a totally different person than I was in June of last year when CANCER became such an integral part of my life, but I think the differences are positive rather than negative. I may not have been a worrier, but I've definitely always been an over-achiever. If I did it; it had to be the best. You know that saying "Stop and smell the roses?" Hey, that's what life is all about. Slow down, don't fret the small stuff and appreciate/cherish/embrace every positive aspect of your life. Do what you can -- the rest is going to be there tomorrow -- and if not tomorrow, the next day. Somehow I just never learned that before now

Thank you, Grangran for your words for others that are undergoing chemotherapy.

Nice note from the United Kingdom

Well done on making the chemo caps. I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005
and had to undergo chemo, I know how much it meant to myself and other friends I
made, that people had taken time to help us out. So I'm sure your efforts are
greatly appreciated.

Passing of a Dear Friend

Joyce's Chemo Cap Project lost a very dear friend Monday. Bob, who we refered to as 'old Bob' because there are so many Bobs at the Allen Senior Center passed away at the age of 92. He was a generous donor to our project because he felt it was a good cause. His wife passed away from cancer a few years ago. He loved to sit with the Chemo Cap group. We'll miss his bright smile and his jokes.

Certificate of Appreciation

We received certificates for our work from RSVP Of The Senior Source yesterday.

Note from Portugal

My name is Lurdes, writing from Sintra, Portugal.

Thank you for being a member of Joyce's Chemo Cap project. I take a look to the blog and I belive you are putting a smile in many faces.