Artist Shari Slonski is a breast cancer survivor.

Fashion for a Cause

There are some clothes and accessories you wear just for style, then there are those that will make a difference in more than just your appearance - they'll also help support breast cancer research.

"They are products that represent support, courage, awareness, and hope."

When it comes to raising breast cancer awareness, you can show your feelings about the illness (and contribute funds to finding a cure and helping people living with cancer) by wearing everything from pink-ribbon-decorated T-shirts to flip-flops to hats.

For some, however, half the joy of wearing something that supports cancer awareness is actually making the thing by hand. The Web site Knitty.com has created a whole line of knitting patterns for people wanting to knit breast cancer-conscious clothing. Others crochet "chemo caps" to show support.

Then there are people like British Columbia resident and breast cancer survivor Shari Slonski, who battled with breast cancer in 1996. She fell in love with making bracelets prior to taking part in the CIBC Run for the Cure.

As a way to raise money for the event, she made 40 beaded bracelets that represented breast cancer awareness. To her surprise, they sold out in just a few hours. The success led her to turn breast cancer awareness jewelry into a career. Along with help from her 13-year-old daughter, Jenna, Slonski launched Beads for a Cure in 2003. A portion of all the profits is donated to the Run for the Cure and to local cancer centers.

"They are products that represent support, courage, awareness, and hope, and also honor those who've lost the battle with cancer," says Slonski. Her bracelets are made from hand-wrapped glass Lampwork beads. They can be ordered in colors to represent specific cancers (such as pink for breast cancer or grey for brain cancer) and can be personalized with charms such as "sister" or "mother," "life" or "hope," "survivor," or "in memory." Since each bead is handblown, no two bracelets are exactly alike.

Slonski's initial intention in starting Beads for a Cure was to raise money for cancer research, but she also ended up personally affecting those dealing with cancer. Since she launched her Web site, she's received countless messages of support from survivors and from those who have lost loved ones to cancer. "Once I started it, the response was so overwhelming that people would phone me or e-mail me and tell me what a difference [the bracelet] had made to them," says Slonski. The fact that an object that hangs on someone's wrist can touch them in such a deep way is something that continues to fulfill Slonski every day. "It never stops amazing me that I'm making a difference in somebody's life," she says.

Posted on October 16, 2006