Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Helping Cancer Patients

I really like stories like this one:

"Octogenarian is hooked on helping cancer patients"
Vindy.com (Youngstown, Ohio), January 27, 2009

Lillie Smith’s warm heart and nimble fingers assure that area cancer patients receiving chemotherapy can have warm heads when they lose their hair.

One of the effects of chemotherapy and other cancer treatments is hair loss, according to the American Cancer Society.

Smith, an 82-year old great-great-great grandmother, crochets some 100 chemo caps each year for ACS, which distributes the hats to cancer patients.

She started crocheting the caps when her husband, L.B., was having chemo treatments, Smith said. L.B., who worked at Republic Steel in Youngstown for 32 years before retiring as a foreman, was diagnosed with cancer in the 1990s and underwent chemotherapy.

“He lost his hair and needed something to keep his head warm in the winter and on other cool days. The cap also distracted people from staring at his bald head,” she said.

“He was well for quite a while after the chemotherapy, but then the cancer came back. That’s why I work so hard,” she said.

After her husband passed away in April 2004, Smith continued to keep her hands busy by making the one-size-fits-all cancer caps in his memory.

There's more of the article at the linked title above.

Not forgetting these head coverers and those who love them...

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