Cancer Survivor's Hobby Turns Into Way For Women To Endure Struggles, Connect
ELK GROVE (CBS13) - An Elk Grove mother of three was diagnosed with breast cancer 10 years ago and now she's cancer free. She says found therapy in an unlikely place.
Anna Starr went to her doctor for a kidney stone and walked out learning she had breast cancer.
"It wasn't just a lump. It was spread throughout the breast tissue. I almost couldn't catch my breath," said Anna.
Anna was diagnosed with cancer at age 34.
"All I could think about was my three children and how long do I get to go and see their lives," said Anna.
Doctors performed a double mastectomy. Anna said the recovery was hard.
"You can't really move your arms. You can't even give yourself a drink of water for several weeks, and I'm not one to sit still," said Anna.
So needing something to do, Anna learned how to knit.
"…To keep my hands busy, just let my mind go away," she said.
Therapy from knitting transformed her life. Two years after her diagnosis, she opened The Yarn Shoppe in Elk Grove.
"I just kind of blindly opened the shop not knowing what would come out of it," she said.
Claudia Niedzielski says The Yarn Shoppe helped her in ways she never thought possible.
"Knitting is very therapeutic just by the nature of it, and you're creating something that is coming from you doing it you kind of forget about everything else," said Claudia.
And at the time, it helped keep her mind off her husband and daughter being ill.
"I just basically came in for five months nonstop and that just got me over the hump," said Claudia.
The store is a gathering for women from all walks of life.
"We don't just knit, we come and share our lives together," said Lori Puente, a customer.
They're a group of friends who found each other in an unlikely place.
"I had no idea that the women that were going to come into my life and end up blessing me," said Anna.
Anna celebrated a major milestone this month: 10 years of being cancer free.
Her daughters also took up knitting and say it's a way to connect as a family.
