Knitting group aids breast cancer survivors
Handmade breast prosthetics known as Knitted Knockers are “a blessing”
They’re called Knitted Knockers, and if you’ve never heard of them consider it a blessing.
Debbie Thornton didn’t know anything about them until she was diagnosed with breast cancer, underwent a double mastectomy and discovered there are few options for breast prosthetics.
“The medical ones are very heavy and hot, so I chose not to wear anything,” said Thornton, who lives in DeMotte, Ind.
Her friend, Theresa Landis, a breast cancer survivor who also underwent a mastectomy, told her about handmade, lightweight breast prostheses made with a special yarn, designed for women who’ve undergone mastectomies, lumpectomies or other breast procedures.
“They’re Knitted Knockers,” Landis told Thornton.
According to the nonprofit organization’s website, knittedknockers.org, “A young woman from Maine owned a yarn shop and had breast cancer. After her mastectomy she made a breast prosthesis for herself. She and friends started making them to give away and came up with the name Knitted Knockers.”
The prosthetics are filled with a substance called PolyFiberFil, and can be worn with any regular bra, sports bra, mastectomy bra or post-op camisole. The special type of yarn is designed to be worn against scarred, sensitive skin.
“When I heard about Knitted Knockers from Theresa, I was so excited to try them,” Thornton said. “There are just some items of clothing that hang better with a little lift.”
Another little lift is that Knitted Knockers are free. Volunteers knit or crochet them, using donated materials, and other volunteers stuff and bag the item for distribution.
Thornton was so touched by the concept, she gushed about it to three of her friends, Cheryl Kaper, Shanon Mosier and Donna Zandstra. To honour Thornton’s battle with breast cancer, they decided to create a local chapter of the national organization.
They named it Knitted Knockers of Northwest Indiana.
Thornton was overwhelmed by their gesture.
“When I attended my first breast cancer support meeting
with the knockers, I was able to connect with these women,” Thornton said. “It was a special sisterhood. I knew what each of those women had gone through, or would be going through. I just wanted to bring a smile to them.”
“One lady grabbed a red pair of knockers and said, ‘Do you know how sexy I’m going to feel wearing these?’” Thornton said. “I knew at that moment Knitted Knockers of Northwest Indiana would be a blessing to these wom-
en.”
Kaper, of Chesterton, has been knitting and crocheting for more than 50 years. She’s a natural for the group, already making more than 500 items with donated materials from several members of her 1965 graduating high school class.
With her thrifty shopping skills, Kaper can crochet and stuff about 30 pairs for only $100. She also enjoys adding little hearts to some of them.
“They can be positioned so the wearer looks down to see a heart covering her own heart,” said Kaper, whose nickname is “Loopy Little Old Lady.”
The women’s circle of generosity extends beyond just the four of them. Through other friendships and connections, they’ve woven together more donors and volunteers into the female tapestry of their local chapter.
“What makes it so special is that it’s women helping women,” said Landis, who first heard about Knitted Knockers on Facebook. “It’s a great organization with wonderful women helping women who seek a way back to leading a normal life.”
“Sometimes it’s the smallest act of kindness that makes a difference,” Thornton added.
The Washington State-based Knitted Knockers organization provides a portal for more than 500 chapters in all 50 states and in 25 countries.
“Requests that come in to our website are forwarded to be filled by groups affiliated with us in their state,” the group’s website states. “If we have no group affiliated in a state, we fill the order directly from Washington. Any groups willing and able to fill orders from their state, we encourage them to register with us so we can forward requests to fill.”
Still, there’s something special when women can receive the items from other women in their own community. The national organization offers volunteer knitters free patterns, videos and other materials.
“If we can continue in this small way to give to breast cancer survivors, to give them hope, to make them feel pretty, I’m all in,” Thornton said.
It’s been such a wonderful experience for the women that they “adopted” two local clinics to help distribute them to breast cancer survivors. Those two facilities are the Porter Regional Hospital’s Center for Women’s Health and St. Mary Medical Center Women’s Diagnostic Center in Hobart.
“And we’re hoping to adopt other clinics,” Kaper said.
Nationally, more than 650 medical clinics are registered with the Knitted Knockers organization.
According to BreastCancer.org, roughly one in eight American women will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of their lifetime. And 50,000 mastectomies are performed each year in the United States, with 90 per cent of those patients wearing a breast prosthesis at some point.
Thornton knows exactly how they feel. And exactly how something as small as a free knitted item can make a survivor feel like a victor.
“Life can’t get better than this,” Thornton said.
To find out about Knitted Knockers, email knittedknockersnwi@hotmail.com.