Indonesian empowers breast cancer survivors

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02:05

Mari Irawati has been cancer free for two years, but she will never forget the day she was diagnosed. She recalls that bright summer day in June where her life completely turned around.

“I felt that there was a lump in my breast but it looked different, and it struck a chord with me. I thought this is something I have to get checked. Right away, the next day I went to the doctor, and as soon as he saw it, he knew that it was cancer,” said Mari.

Mari was shocked upon finding out she had stage two cancer. After getting herself scanned, the doctor agreed to save Mari’s life; she would have no choice but to go through a mastectomy.

“At that time, I think fear took over my body. I immediately said yes. I told my doctor: 'you can do whatever you need to do to save my life, even if it means removing my breast,'” said Mari.

That’s exactly what the doctors did. Weeks after the surgery, Mari couldn’t come to terms with the changes her body went through. After months of research, she decided to purchase prosthetic silicone breast, which she found very uncomfortable to wear.

Mari is just one out of thousands of breast cancer survivors that have undergone a mastectomy in Indonesia. More often than not, those survivors are left with no support or confidence over their drastic changes.

Throughout the most challenging time of her life, Mari was able to find happiness in a community that provided her with much more than just confidence.

Knitted Knockers Indonesia is a community of women who spend their days knitting and crocheting prosthetic breasts for cancer survivors across the country.

“Personally, I found out about Knitted Knockers through the hospital I was being treated at. I feel really lucky to have been connected with these women. Now I am a part of their community as well; I’m a volunteer. I’m happy that after all, they have done for me, I can now help other survivors also,” said Mari.

Rosalina Lee is the founder of Knitted Knockers Indonesia. After losing her niece to cancer, Rosalina needed to find a way to be a part of a community that helps to raise awareness against the disease.

She has always loved knitting, and when she found out that the Knitted Knockers foundation, based in the United States, was interested in having a branch in Indonesia, she began to take action. Her community blossomed from just a small group of eight people back then to more than 200 volunteers today.

“We have delivered a total of 2,000 pairs of knockers across Indonesia, but I think the country still needs to understand and support breast cancer survivors more. We are here to provide that support. We want more volunteers to join us so we can widen our reach, especially to those living in the outskirts of the country,” said Rosalina.

Rosalina works with private and government hospitals across the country to provide knockers to those who desperately need them. Her organization keeps in close contact with the nurses in those hospitals, where many of them eventually become volunteers at Knitted Knockers Indonesia.

“It is not an easy task, but we are determined to help low-income families. That’s why our volunteers are very important. Some of our volunteers are nurses and doctors in hospitals, and they help us a lot because they directly connect us with survivors who need our knockers.”

Through their hobbies, the women at Knitted Knockers Indonesia are slowly empowering and inspiring breast cancer survivors across Indonesia to feel confident and comfortable in their bodies.