In Rennes, health insurance employees make heart-shaped cushions to relieve the pain of women who have undergone a mastectomy following breast cancer.
- Placed under the arm, the heart-shaped cushions relieve tension related to the operation.
- The league against cancer encourages all volunteers, professionals and amateurs alike, to make their own heart cushions.
The health crisis has not allowed the same mobilizations as usual for Pink October, an operation to raise awareness of breast cancer which takes place every year. Marches, rallies and races have been postponed due to the risk of Covid-19 contamination. So, thirty-five Health Insurance employees decided to mobilize differently: they made handmade heart-shaped cushions to relieve the pain of women who had a mastectomy, that is to say a removal of the breast. . So far, they have produced 113. They donated these heart cushions to the Eugène Marquis cancer center in Rennes.
A cushion that relieves the tensions of the mastectomy
Pretty to see, these heart-shaped cushions also have real virtues in reducing the pain associated with mastectomy. For this, women who have undergone this surgery must place them under the arm. Positioned in this way, they relieve the tensions and ailments associated with the operation. This heart cushion model dates from the 2000s. It was created in the United States by a doctor. A pattern and a tutorial are available on the Ligue contre le cancer website.
And to make them, you don’t need a lot of material: 2 pieces of fabric, absolutely 100% cotton (2 times 40 X 42 cm), thread, a sewing needle, pins, adhesive tape, a pair of fabric scissors , a pair of paper scissors, a fabric pen and 170 g of polyester padding only (no foam, cotton wool or kapok). Then, all you have to do is follow the pattern and the tutorial to make this heart-cushion.
Make your cushion and send it
On its website, the League Against Cancer also encourages all volunteers, professionals and amateurs alike, to make their own heart cushions. They will thus be able to give them to their departmental committees or to the Association’s Meeting and Information Spaces. The latter will then be responsible for redistributing them to women who have undergone a mastectomy.
Each year in France, nearly 60,000 breast cancers are screened. It is the most common female cancer. But the earlier it is detected, the higher the chances of recovery. According to health insurance websitethere would be 99% five-year survival for breast cancer detected at an early stage and only 26% when diagnosed at a late stage.
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