Breast cancer scarf inspired by Terri Massey hung at CAMC | Health | wvgazettemail.com

Terri Lynne Massey, of Oak Hill, always told her family that, “someday, something good” would come out of her battle with breast cancer.

“In the moment, it’s hard for us to wrap our heads around that,” Massey’s brother, Anthony Treadway, said. “For her, she was something beyond her current situation.”

A tribute to Terri Lynne Massey is set up Monday, Oct. 14, 2024, at the CAMC Cancer Center in Kanawha City. Massey, of Oak Hill, died from breast cancer in 2009. She inspired the creation of a pink scarf to remember those who fought cancer, and those who died. A portion of the scarf, which is more than 2 miles long, is on display at the CAMC Cancer Center for the rest of October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Massey, 39, died from cancer in 2009, but the “something good” lives on in the form of a 2-mile long scarf knitted or crocheted by people throughout the country.

About 500 feet of the scarf is displayed at the CAMC Cancer Center this month as a symbol of hope and reminder for women to get annual mammograms.

Hundreds of feet of a knitted scarf are draped around the lobby of the CAMC Cancer Center in Kanawha City on Monday, Oct. 14, 2024. This is just a portion of a larger scarf, knitted by hundreds of people from across the United States who have had to deal with breast cancer, that is more than 2 miles long. It was inspired by Terri Lynne Massey, of Oak Hill, who died from breast cancer in 2009. The scarf will be on display at the CAMC Cancer Center for the rest of October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Create a scarf piece:

Follow these instructions, using 100% acrylic yarn in any shade of pink. Do not use baby blanket yarns.

Knit a scarf

Use size 13 needles. Cast on about 25 stitches for a piece no wider than 7 inches. Do not purl. The length should be no longer than 5 feet. Bind off and knot. If you cannot bind off, send the piece in with a needle, and the needle will be returned.

Crochet

Use size G hook. Single crochet no wider than 7 inches. Double crochet the rest of the piece to a length no longer than 5 feet.

Mail the finished piece to Kay Bess, 144 Paris Place, Fayetteville, WV 25840.

If you have questions, email [email protected] or call 304-640-2295. You can also request the scarf for display purposes.

Scholarship fund:

To contribute to Terri’s Tribute scholarship fund, drop off a donation at Fayette County National Bank or mail it to Fayette County National Bank, P.O. Box 209, Fayetteville, WV 25840.

Gas card fund:

Contributions may be made to the West Virginia American Water Gas Card fund online at bit.ly/WVAWGasCard this month. Donations may be made over the phone by calling 304-388-9860 or mailing a gift for “WVAW Gas Cards” to the CAMC Foundation, 3414 Staunton Ave. SE, Charleston, WV 25304.

Massey was not a knitter, Treadway said, but, after her death, several friends came together to knit a 20-foot scarf that would be displayed in her honor.

The scarf kept growing as social media and a display at the Tamarack Marketplace in Beckley introduced the concept to people from across the country.

Anthony Treadway looks up at a pink knitted scarf (not pictured) on Oct. 14, 2024, draped around the lobby of the CAMC Cancer Center in Kanawha City. The entire scarf, knitted by hundreds of people affected by breast cancer, is more than two miles long. It was inspired by Treadway's sister, Terri Lynne Massey, of Oak Hill, who died of breast cancer in 2009. The scarf will be on display at the CAMC Cancer Center for the rest of October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

“We were saying ‘Oh wow, it’s going to be long enough so you can hang it off the New River Gorge Bridge and it would touch the water.’ That ship has sailed. We’re now over 2 miles long,” Treadway said. “It’s really not about the length of it. It’s about the number of lives it has touched.”

People from all 50 states, Canada and the Caribbean have contributed to the scarf, with many sending in notes of encouragement or dedicating sections in honor of a loved one who has died from breast cancer. Parts of the scarf have even been repurposed into lap blankets for cancer patients.

Treadway said he wants the scarf to be a “beacon of hope” to people going through “hell on earth” during cancer treatments.

“It teaches you a little bit about humanity when I see the number of folks who stop what they’re doing and say, ‘I want to contribute to something for a person who I’ve never met because I know that what I’ve been through may be able to someday be a beacon of hope for those folks,’” he said.

A knitted scarf is shown, on Oct. 14, 2024, draped above the lobby of the CAMC Cancer Center in Kanawha City. The entire scarf, knitted by hundreds of people affected by breast cancer, is more than two miles long. It was inspired by Terri Lynne Massey, of Oak Hill, who died of breast cancer in 2009. The scarf will be on display at the CAMC Cancer Center for the rest of October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

But Massey’s legacy is not just the scarf. The Terri’s Tribute scholarship fund helps Fayette County students who’ve lost a parent to breast cancer.

Additionally, Treadway and his employer, West Virginia American Water, have partnered with the CAMC Foundation to establish a fund to provide gasoline funds to cancer patients who have to drive to CAMC for care. Last year, they raised $28,000.

At an event showcasing the scarf Monday, breast cancer survivor Diane Holley-Brown said the scarf makes her emotional.

Breast cancer survivor Diane Holley-Brown speaks during a news conference, on Oct. 14, 2024, at the CAMC Cancer Center in Kanawha City. At the event, a portion of a pink scarf was on display to commemorate Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The entire scarf, knitted by hundreds of people affected by breast cancer, is more than two miles long. It was inspired by Terri Lynne Massey, of Oak Hill, who died of breast cancer in 2009. The scarf will be on display at the CAMC Cancer Center for the rest of October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

“This is hopeful,” she said. “When you get the diagnosis of breast cancer, there’s no way to describe the flood of emotions, but when you get diagnosed early, there is hope.”

Holley-Brown was diagnosed last year with a small tumor via her annual mammogram. She’s undergone aggressive treatment and will be monitored for the next five years.

The American College of Radiology and Society of Breast Imaging recommend women begin receiving annual mammograms at age 40.

“I believe that, if I hadn’t come every year to the Breast Center for my mammogram, my journey would have taken a different path,” she said.

Treadway said the purpose of the scarf also is to remind women of the importance of mammograms.

“We are better than we’ve ever been with our technology. We are saving more lives than we’ve ever saved, but it’s only when we get people here to get them screened,” he said. “If we could go back in time, we would have loved to have done things differently with my sister, but we’re taking her words and her encouragement, and we’re trying to make things different for somebody else.”

Standing beside a portion of a draped pink scarf, on Oct. 14, 2024, above the lobby of the CAMC Cancer Center in Kanawha City, Teresa McClain of Clay watches a news conference about the pink scarf. The entire scarf, knitted by hundreds of people affected by breast cancer, is more than two miles long. It was inspired by Terri Lynne Massey, of Oak Hill, who died of breast cancer in 2009. The scarf will be on display at the CAMC Cancer Center for the rest of October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

CLICK HERE to follow the Charleston Gazette-Mail and receive

Our free daily newsletter – The West Virginia AM Update.

Ashley Perham is a city reporter. She can be reached at 304-348-1240 or [email protected].