Judy Elsley

Breast Cancer Quilts Judy Elsley

"You have breast cancer." One in eight women in the U. S. will hear those four words at some time in their lives. In January 2012, I was one of them. I'd had a clean mammogram in June 2011, but discovered a lump as I turned over in bed one November night. A sonogram and biopsy later, I was diagnosed with Grade 2 invasive breast cancer. I had a mastectomy of my right breast in February 2012, followed by chemotherapy from March to June 2010. I went through 6 rounds of chemo, comprised of a combination of Taxotere and Cytoxan. I lost my hair and my appetite, I was exhausted all the time, and I was too ill to work. Those are the facts, but they don't begin to describe the emotional journey of my diagnosis and treatment for breast cancer. I coped with my diagnosis, like so many other women, through the support of family and friends, by taking the experience one day at a time. I also made quilts. Why quilts? Throughout the breast cancer experience, quilting was one of the few activities I enjoyed. There was so little I could do, but I had the energy and interest to cut up fabric, pin it to my design wall, and then sit at my sewing machine to put the pieces together. Quilt making gave me the opportunity to express how I felt about this intense and difficult experience. I wrote on my quilts as a complement to the visual image I created. I was fortunate in the support of my husband and friends, but there were times when I needed to vent or celebrate on fabric. One of my doctors pointed out that quilt making was good for me, an absorbing creative activity that distracted me from feeling unwell, as well as from my fears and worries. Making a quilt helped me focus on the present, and gave me something interesting and positive to think about. I do think working with fabric contributed to my health and healing. I hope that my breast cancer quilt story will inspire you to tell your story in the creative way that feels most comfortable to you as you make sense of the breast cancer experience.