October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month. 2005 is the 20-year anniversary of that event.Until recently that didn't mean a lot to me other than the occasional, random, passing thought of, "oh, yeah, I should maybe think about doing a self-exam". I remember an instructor in high school health class demonstrating how to do this with a naked female torso dummy, and I also remember how incredibly embarrassed and uncomfortable we all were during that class. Lots of jokes and nervous giggles, and then, thank God, the bell rang and that humiliating class was over.
They say we have a 1-in-9 chance of getting breast cancer in our lifetime. I have known several woman (co-workers) who have survived it, one of whom was only 29 years old when she underwent that ordeal. I have known at least one woman who did not survive it. Still, it has all been quite cerebral and unemotional for me -- it's amazing how much denial we can live with on a day-to-day basis.
Recently, however, I have learned that a very sweet woman I know has been diagnosed with it. She just had a mastectomy, and will be beginning chemo shortly. And so, I'd like to do something for her in a feeble attempt to show her that I care.
I found this pattern, and would like to knit the following cap for her, which should come close to matching her haircolor:
It will be my very first attempt at knitting a cap in the round, so I think I may need to go to the LYS to get started under their guidance.
I will be using this yarn:
I just hope that it doesn't end up the wrong size or too ugly or perhaps too scratchy for her sensitive scalp.
There are also a couple of fun cause-related projects in last fall's knitty.com surprise issue dedicated to BC awareness, which can be found here. [It's in .pdf format -- you'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader (free download) to open it].
Anyway, this post is dedicated to you, Jeannie! Hang in there, lady -- my prayers are with you! :-)
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