At the beginning of June, 2006, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. My grandmother had died of it back in the early 30′s when my mother was a teenager. Then my mom had breast cancer when she was in her 40′s. I was already 60 when mine was discovered. And more than 5 years have past since then, and I’m cancer free. Of course I”ll be checked every 6 months and that’s reassuring that people are still going to be looking out for me.

When I was going through chemo, I lost my hair, and made a few crocheted hats to wear – for going outside, and even to sleep in. I also wore some turbans that a friend of mine made for me.

Once I was done with the treatment, at the end of 2006, I made a few crocheted hats and sent them to a contact who would distribute them to cancer clinics.

I passed along my turbans to my daughter, who was diagnosed with cancer in the summer of 2007.

Since then, occasionally I crochet more hats to give away.

Recently I took a large number of hats and turbans to the oncologist group where my doctor’s office is located, and donated all of them. Seems there is never a lull in cancer patients.

I have a bunch of yarn that I’m going to start making more crocheted hats so in the fall I can donate them to the clinic near my home, where I had received my treatments.

It feels so good to be able to help others!

Want to donate hats? I can give you a list of organizations that would be delighted to receive them.

Back in 2006, my husband and I worked at a naval base in a nearby city. I had been at the same job for 18 years and I loved it. He had been at his for 9, and was getting tired of not only the long drive – 1 hour each way – but the work wasn’t as challenging as he liked.

He decided that he was done! While I had been at my current job for 18 years, I had worked at other installations and had my 20 years in. Also in 2006, I turned 60 which was a good retirement age. So we both retired on the last day of May that year. Why didn’t I just keep working? Well, I have Chronic Fatigue, and while an hour drive each way might not seem like a lot to many people, after driving through all the heavy traffic – I would be extremely tired by the time I got to work. Many days, if I wasn’t feeling well, I would work from home. At the time that we requested to retire, I had asked my command if I could work from home permanently. They said no – so I said OK – I’m retiring!

Before I retired, I went in for my annual mammogram. And got called back for a recheck. The day after I retired, we had an appointment with a breast cancer doctor for a consult and a biopsy. Over the weekend, the doctor called, and said I had breast cancer. While I have a history of it in my family – my grandmother died from it, my mother had it – but in her 40′s and now me at 60 – I felt that the stress of all the driving that we did, during the 10 years that we had lived where we are now – might have contributed to it as well. I was always nervous about the traffic, as it was very heavy regardless of when we drove to work. And I wasn’t even driving!

Why it happened now – I can only ask. But knowing that I was retiring, while devastated, I was much better able to handle all the doctor appointments and such without having to worry about missing work.

With both of us retired at that point, my husband was able to help me, and take care of me. Over time, and with the chemo treatments, I lost my hair. Many women do. I looked around for something to wear on my head when we went out. I had already made some crocheted caps for myself – even wore them to bed. A friend of mine, Margaret, from an online group started making turbans for women such as myself – with hair loss from cancer. Of course, cancer is not the only reason for hair loss. I got a couple of the turbans to try out and was hooked! Not only did they keep my head warm, but they looked fashionable too!

When Margaret decided to retire, she asked if I wanted to continue to sell her turbans and I said YES! I know how great they are, and decided to offer them on my website, at a PAY IT FORWARD price! Almost what I paid Margaret for them!

If you are now dealing with hair loss, or know someone who is – whatever the cause, these turbans are ideal and will make you or your friend feel so much better about their appearance.

There are so many delightful fabrics that you will find on our Turban Scarves page.

Sandi