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Sixteen volunteers got busy sewing in Ayr last Sunday morning, hand-crafting 42 care packs for cancer patients during Zonta Club Burdekin's annual sewing bee. Photos: Jacob Casha.
Sixteen volunteers got busy stitching in Ayr last Sunday morning, hand-crafting 42 breast care cushion sets for cancer patients during Zonta Club Burdekin's annual sewing bee.
The group of volunteers—made up of Zonta members and Friends of Zonta—worked steadily from 9am to produce the sets, each containing a cushion, a drainage or totem bag, and a shower bag.
The sets will be delivered on demand to the Mater’s North Queensland Minimally Invasive Surgery (NQMIS) Consulting Suites and Townsville University Hospital, where they’ll be given to people with breast cancer or melanoma, or those who have undergone a mastectomy or lymph node removal from the armpit or groin.
Breast Cushion Coordinator Karen Clarke said the packs were about “spreading joy to those who are going through treatment.”
“Breast cancer affects everybody. This is just to provide that little bit of comfort,” she said.
“A woman leaves the hospital and she’s in pain. She needs a cushion to put under her arm when she’s watching the television or has a seatbelt on. So this is just a great personal aid.
Some packs this year were made with darker colours for men.
Karen said the packs were often felt well beyond Townsville.
“We often get thank you cards from people who have received them—some from as far as Weipa. It just touches everybody.”
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