Support: GenesisCare Shepparton patient services officer Allison Elliot, former patient Olinda Poulton and radiation therapist Erin Johnson with some of the modesty covers made by Goulburn Valley Quilters for breast cancer patients. Photos: Megan Fisher.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
It was during her own journey with breast cancer that Shepparton’s Olinda Poulton decided to try to make the experience a bit better for others who follow.
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After a gruelling course of chemotherapy, Ms Poulton received radiation treatments at GenesisCare in Shepparton and was nervous about her first appointment.
“To strip to the waist and just lay on that bed, with arms up and be totally naked is quite daunting and a little bit embarrassing,” she said.
“I asked for something like a gown to cover up and they gave me a pillowcase because that’s all they could do.
“That pillowcase came on my whole journey — the whole six weeks.”
By week four, as someone with a love of sewing, Ms Poulton realised she could easily make something like the pillowcase, but better.
Here for you: The covers have a small tag with a message of support from the Goulburn Valley Quilters group.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
As a member of the Goulburn Valley Quilters, she took the idea to the group and president Gael Thompson, who were all for it.
They set out to make 50 modesty covers, using brightly coloured and patterned fabrics, all 100 per cent cotton and suitable for radiation treatments.
They also wrote cards to be given out with each cover and stitched on a small tag with a message of support.
“It was about giving them support and understanding that there are other people out there who are thinking of them,” Ms Poulton said.
“It’s also about coming home with something — you walk out the door and there’s nothing.
“If you can take something home, you’ve always got it; it’s not meant to be a reminder of the sad times, but how you survived.”
Radiation therapist Erin Johnson said the covers were receiving positive feedback from patients.
“We’ve been giving them out at the CT scan when the patients initially come to us and they get to choose which one they like,” she said.
All for it: Olinda Poulton is grateful to GenesisCare Shepparton for supporting her idea.
Photo by
Megan Fisher
“It's been really good hearing how patients are receiving it — they've been loving it.
“It just helps them feel like they're a part of the community and they have somewhere to go if they need.”
Ms Poulton was diagnosed in 2021, and having completed her chemotherapy and radiation treatments, is now on a five-year clinical trial.
She thanked GenesisCare for being so responsive to her idea and Goulburn Valley Quilters, which is going to dedicate some of its activity days to continuing to produce the modesty covers.
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