There will be a new addition to the Canadian Cancer Society Resource Room in the Cranbrook office thanks to the Telus Community Ambassadors and their knitting group.

Knitted Knockers, as they are affectionately called, are an alternative to traditional breast prostheses. They are soft, hand-made, lightweight, breathable and washable. They come in a variety of colours and patterns. These soft breast prosthetics are prefect for anyone who is looking into their options post breast cancer treatment or for women who had their mastectomy or lumpectomy long ago and just want to try something different. Because each pair is handmade, each pair is unique, just like every woman.

Women who use them rave about them and now there is a place in the East Kootenay for women to get their hands on them. The launch of this project is also timely as we head into October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Anyone who is interested can stop by the Canadian Cancer Society office in Cranbrook at #19 – 9th Avenue South and get a pair at no cost.

The Canadian Cancer Society currently has all cup sizes of Knitted Knockers available with capable knitters at the ready when we need more. Any women who stop by will be helped to find the correct size of prosthetic and can pick out a pair that they like. Knitted Knockers come in pairs for those women who have had double mastectomies and for women who’ve had a single mastectomy or lumpectomy, they will have a spare for when they wash one.

This initiative was spearheaded by the Telus Community Ambassadors. Edith LeClair, the President of the Cranbrook Chapter, heard about Knitted Knockers at the Telus Community Ambassadors Convention in Vancouver in April. These service clubs are working towards making it a Canada-wide program. So charitable knitters were gathered together to work on getting some made.

“The Knockers are knit on four bamboo needles out of Pima cotton yarn or bamboo or silk yarn. Most of the knitters prefer to donate the yarn as well as their time,” LeClair explained.

Over the summer, the Knitter Knockers group has made about 34 pairs of various sizes and has partnered with the Canadian Cancer Society, who will distribute them to interested women through their Resource Room in their office.

According to Lynnette Wray, Team Lead with the Canadian Cancer Society Financial Support Program, “we sincerely appreciate the Telus Ambassadors’ work on the Knitted Knockers. This is an excellent addition to our existing support programs, which include a Financial Support Program to assist with a portion of travel and accommodations costs to attend treatment, our ‘home away from home’ Lodges in Kelowna, Vancouver, Prince George and Victoria, our CancerConnection peer support program, and our Cancer Information Service.”

Wray encourages patients or caregivers to visit www.cancer.ca for further information about Canadian Cancer Society support programs. Wray added, “I also want to thank Val Paolini from the Oncology Unit at the EKRH for sharing our support programs information with chemotherapy patients.”

The Resource Room at the Cranbrook Office, located at #19 – 9th Ave S, Cranbrook, has wigs, head coverings (hats, toques, scarves, turbans, caps), under-arm pillows, Knitted Knockers, temporary ‘puffy’ breast prosthetics, books, videos, brochures and other resources for people dealing with cancer and going through treatment. All of these resources are available without cost to cancer patients and their families.

The Canadian Cancer Society would like to thank all the knitters, stuffers and wrappers for all their hard work and for the Telus Community Ambassadors for coming to the Society with this partnership opportunity and spearheading this project. Since 2007, the TELUS Community Ambassadors have assembled, knitted, sewn and donated nearly 500,000 care items across Canada to help out those in need. Since 2000, TELUS team members and retirees have contributed more than 5.4 million volunteer hours to communities across the country.

In Cranbrook, and province-wide, the Telus Community Ambassadors also make Baby Bags – care bundles for babies born to families in need.

“The Knitted Knockers program was started locally in July of this year with one local knitter and one knitter who is a snowbird and lives in B.C. during the summers spending time in Cranbrook. Over that first month we had several new members join the group just to work on the Knocker project. We now have about a dozen members in the knitting group and they are all excited about the project which is very nice to see,” LeClair said.

Please visit the Canadian Cancer Society at #19 – 9th Ave S, Cranbrook or call us at 250-426-8916/1-800-656-6426. Or visit cancer.ca.

If you are looking for more information on the Telus Community Ambassadors, what they do and how they do it, please visit http://community.telus.com/ or visit Facebook and search for Telus Community Ambassadors.

For more information on Knitted Knockers please visit http://www.knittedknockerscanada.com/

Above photo: (Left to Right: Josie Cale – Canadian Cancer Society, Val Paolini – Oncology Unit, East Kootenay Regional Hospital, Edith LeClair – President, Cranbrook Chapter Telus Community Ambassadors, Lynnette Wray – Team Lead, Financial Support Program, Canadian Cancer Society).

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