Cotton boobies to help breast cancer survivors

Together We Can Make A Difference founder, Paula Potgieter is on a mission to preserve the dignity, femininity and self-worth of breast cancer survivors who have undergone a mastectomy. Her Weltevreden Park-based non-profit organisation members crochet soft and comfortable boobies to be used as prostheses.

This idea, which is aimed at helping over 200 patients, started after Paula witnessed her close friend and volunteer Liz Gerber going through the worst experience of having to use materials that were neither comfortable nor a right fit.

She didn’t want to see any woman going through such trauma and difficulty again.

“My friend’s experience made us realise the need among other patients on the same journey for the best possible help. It’s a matter of preserving their dignity, femininity and self-worth. The scars breast cancer survivors carry with them go way deeper than those left by the surgical procedure itself,” Paula explained.

She went on to shed light on their handmade products. “We have called them ‘Crochet Boobies’ because that’s exactly what they are. They’re made of 100 per cent pure cotton and filled with hypoallergenic stuffing. They are soft and comfortable, and do not cause any friction or allergic reaction. They enable women to feel confident to wear them without sparking uninvited attention,” she explained.

To ensure that the project is also informative, Paula added that they teamed up with Ronelle Baars from BOC-Bears of Care to put together packs containing the Crochet Boobies and all the necessary information leaflets for the patients as they come out of surgery.

“These will also include what we call a ‘mastectomy pillow’ which is needed when the underarm lymph nodes have been removed, and we’ve added the small drain bag to it as well,” she said.

So far, the Weltevreden Park-based non-profit organisation managed to make 220 crochet boobies, mastectomy pillows and drain bags with the help of dedicated volunteers.

This batch is set to be divided and distributed to the West Rand Oncology, Flora Clinic, Helen Joseph and Charlotte Maxeke Hospitals.

Paula told the Northsider they have the desire to produce more, even after Breast Cancer Awareness Month (October) has come to an end, with some help from the community.
“We are using very specific materials for this project, such as the type of cotton used and the stuffing etc. If you’d like to help us along with this project you can do so by buying and dropping off an extra ball of wool and cotton at the Fabric Habby Hyper at Allen’s Nek Retail Park. This would assist a lot as our ladies carry the cost of the materials for the most part,” she appealed.

For more information contact Paula Potgieter on 072 622 7078.