Women knitting for normalcy after breast cancer

However, one organization is committed to helping restore a sense of normalcy to women who have battled the disease. This includes Effingham resident Tammy Leonard.

She's a fighter. Fourteen years ago, Leonard battled estrogen positive breast cancer. She had to have chemotherapy, radiation and a lumpectomy. The surgery changed her inside and out. 

“It’s very emotional," Leonard recalled. "As women, we’re very vain in how we look and feel, and so, that lumpectomy drastically changed me. I was having to use generic fillers to make myself look ‘normal’ to the outside world.” 

So, what’s the price to feel normal? Leonard said it cost roughly $16 dollars per prosthetic breast set, which could only be used once or twice because they couldn’t be washed. But recently, Leonard made a new 'breast friend'.  

“It was put in my vision," Paula Gordon explained. "I’m a person of faith, I think it was there for a reason, and I listened, and when I presented it to the hospital, they were ready, too.” 

After Gordon retired from teaching, she wished to give back to the community in a special way. Breast cancer ran in her family, so Gordon decided to help start "Sarah’s Breast Friends Forever" at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center in Mattoon. It’s part of the national organization “Knitted Knockers". 

A group of 10 to 12 women knit and crochet various sizes of prosthetic breasts made of special yarn for women in central Illinois and beyond. 

“The national organization just recently put out a plea (saying) they needed size 'B' because they were depleted in their supply," Gordon said. "So, we sent them 101 pairs of size 'B'.” 

The need for the knitted knockers is great across the country. The organization sends the sets to women who need them for free, shipping them wherever they need to go.

They can even accommodate custom orders, but typically make sizes A-DD.

Of the hundreds of knocker sets Sarah’s BFF’s have finished, Leonard said she’s thankful and looking forward to two more sets of her own as she faces breast cancer again. She said this cancer is a triple negative type which is highly aggressive.

She's scheduled a double mastectomy surgery for December. 

“God bless them for doing it because it really is making a huge difference in those of us that are fighting this horrible disease,” Leonard shared.

Sarah's Breast Friends Forever and the Knitted Knockers are always looking for more volunteers to knit the prosthetics.

To get connected with Volunteer Services at Sarah Bush Lincoln, call the volunteer center at (217) 258-2500 or email volunteers@sblhs.org. The Volunteer Guild at Sarah Bush helps provide materials to those who can't afford them, but are wanting to volunteer their time and talents to make the knockers.

For more on Knitted Knockers, click here. There are also tutorials at the website to show how to knit a prosthetic. Only prosthetics made with special yarn and by certain patterns can be distributed through the Knitted Knockers program.

Anyone with questions on specifics can contact the Volunteer Center above.

Other items offered through Sarah's BFFs include "pockets for patients," which will hold drain tubes for mastectomy patients, port pillows and mastectomy pillows. All items are provided free of charge. Those items can be seen here . If someone is interested in those, contact Volunteer Services at (217) 258-2500.