Chemo hats for IBC Awareness Day
Boston (August 10, 2023) – From the north shore to the south shore, dozens of crafters are making knit and crochet chemo hats to be donated to the Breast Health Center at Tufts Medical Center in Boston in recognition of Inflammatory Breast Cancer Awareness Day.
In January, the legislature approved a bill establishing a permanent Inflammatory Breast Cancer Awareness Day in Massachusetts. Governor Charlie Baker signed the bill into law on his final day in office.
Several yarn shops in the area have engaged their knitting/crochet groups in the project and are making hats including Wicked Good Yarns, 871 Washington St., (first floor, rear), in Braintree, and Auntie Zaza’s Fiber Works, 104 Main St, North Easton. Crafters may visit the shops to learn more, pick up some yarn and drop off donations. In addition, the Whitman Council on Aging Knitting Group is making hats.
In Dorchester, the Stitch House, 846 Dorchester Avenue, has announced two knit-along events in September to create hats for the project. The events will be held Friday, September 15 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., and Sunday, September 24, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Crafters are welcome to attend this event, learn about IBC, and meet new friends. IBC survivors will be in attendance to share information and educational materials.
There are also many individual knitters from the north and south shore who are creating hats for the donation.
The bill designates the second Tuesday of October as a permanent day to recognize and promote education about inflammatory breast cancer (IBC).
IBC is an aggressive form of breast cancer. IBC accounts for about one to 5% of all breast cancers, and a disproportionate number of life years lost. Most women diagnosed are under the age of 40. The disease is also the least understood type of breast cancer.
The bill was proposed by IBC New England Region, a charitable, non-profit organization dedicated to supporting awareness and education about IBC as well as resources for patients. Learn more at our website, ibc-ne.com.
“Our goal is to collect 100 hats by the end of September for the donation,” said Susan Asci, 22-year IBC survivor and founder of IBC New England. “Community crafting is a great way to get people together to share the experience of creating and donating to others. It’s an opportunity to talk, answer questions, and share information with our friends, family, and neighbors.”
For more information visit the Stitch House, Wicked Good Yarns, or Auntie Zaza’s Fiber Works, or call Susan Asci at 781-447-0848.
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IBC Networking Group of Boston meetings on request
(February 2023) — The IBC networking group of Boston has held regular face-to-face meetings in Massachusetts (quarterly). For the past decade we have met in Newton, then at office space in Brighton and at a church in Milton.
Since the pandemic, we have held outdoor meetings in different areas on a random schedule, by request.
Contact networking group coordinator Sue Asci at 781-447-0848 if you are interested in scheduling a group meeting in your area.
Prior to Covid, our networking group had been meeting at the Church of Our Saviour in Milton. Many venues are not open to public meetings due to the ongoing pandemic. If you have suggestions for outdoor meeting ideas in your area, please call the coordinator. Or if you feel comfortable we could explore an indoor meeting site, such as a library. We have held meetings at parks in Wareham, Norwood, Burlington, and other locations.
If you have been diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer and would like to talk with others to share information and support, contact the group coordinator and 22-year IBC survivor (Sue at 781-447-0848) about joining the schedule.
These meetings are Peer-led discussions.
Upcoming face-to-face meetings will be announced as scheduled
(July 2022-Ongoing)
Survivingbreastcancer.org launches monthly Zoom meetup for IBC in 2022
(December 2021)_– The nonprofit organization, survivingbreastcancer.org, is launching a monthly Zoom meeting on January 13, 2022 for women with inflammatory breast cancer (IBC).
The networking/support group is free and open to anyone with a diagnosis of IBC.
The group will be held from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. (ET), and facilitated by Dr. Nancy Gaulin. The meetup will be held on the second Thursday of every month.
RSVP now for the January meeting. Each month, register online at survivingbreastcancer.org and a link will be sent to you.
Register here:
Thursday Night Thrivers IBC Meetup | SBC (survivingbreastcancer.org)
All of the online meetups organized by survivingbreastcancer.org aim to bring the community together. Join us the second Thursday of every month as we discuss inflammatory breast cancer, treatments, side effects, and gain valuable support. Our Thursday Night Thrivers Meetup is a “come as you are,” safe, and welcoming space. Our IBC meetups are peer-to-peer led by Susan Asci and professionally facilitated by Dr. Nancy Gaulin, Psy. D., MBA.
The mission of SurvivingBreastCancer.org (SBC), a federally recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, is to empower those diagnosed with breast cancer and their families from day one and beyond. SBC serves as an educational and virtual community platform- offering support from meeting patients and their families where they are on the continuum of a cancer diagnosis. SBC incorporates an integrative and collaborative approach to breast cancer, from risk reduction strategies and prevention, to treatment, survivorship, and living with a terminal diagnosis.
SBC offers a range of educational podcasts, webinars, writing workshops, blogs, and opportunities to meet and share ideas online. Their weekly e-newsletter has more than 10,000 subscribers. The site has visited by hundreds of thousands of breast cancer survivors each year since its founding in 2018.
The Zoom series is coordinated in collaboration with Susan Asci, 20-year IBC survivor and founder of the IBC Networking Group of Boston. Dr. Gaulin has facilitated this group for the past 10 years. The networking group of Boston holds face-to-face meetings quarterly in Milton and other towns around Boston.