Prineville quilters donate nearly 150 quilts to Cascade Healthcare Community cancer patients for seventh year running

Bend, Ore. – On Tuesday, Sept. 30 a dozen quilters from the Crook County Quilt Guild visited the St. Charles Regional Cancer Treatment Center in Bend and donated nearly 150 hand-made quilts for Cascade Healthcare Community cancer patients.

This is the seventh year the quilters have created what they call “chemo quilts” for cancer patients in Central Oregon. The idea began, said Marilyn Malloy, quilt guild member and former president, when her daughter was diagnosed with cancer in 2000 and a friend gave her a quilt.

“I saw how much joy the quilt brought my daughter,” Malloy said. “I wanted to share that gift with others.”

At the time, Malloy said, she didn’t know how to sew. She began attending the Crook County Quilt Guild morning meetings to learn the trade so she could donate her own quilts to cancer patients. It wasn’t long before she convinced dozens of other quilters to join her cause. She says she and her sewing cohorts are inspired each year by the thank you letters from patients who received the quilts the year before.

Malloy says that depending on size and the intricacy of the quilt, each one can take from a week to more than a month to create.

“Amazingly enough, we continue to create more and more quilts every year,” Malloy said. She also noted that throughout the year they give quilts to cancer patients in Prineville. She estimates the guild has given away at least 50 in its hometown.

The guild receives donated fabric, thread and discounted batting from Mountain Country Mercantile and BJ’s Quilt Shop both in Bend. Guild members also donate materials.

The quilts range in size and color scheme, Malloy said, but all serve the same purpose, to bring comfort to cancer patients during a difficult time. According to the Oregon Department of Human Services, about 18,000 Oregonians are diagnosed with cancer every year. About 1,100 of those patients are in the Central Oregon region, said Peggy Carey, director of the St. Charles Regional Cancer Treatment Center.

“These quilts are such selfless gifts,” Carey said. “They bring so much joy to the patients in a time of need.”

Cascade Healthcare Community President and CEO James A. Diegel, FACHE, accepted the quilts from the guild and is thankful and impressed by this generous gift.

About the St. Charles Regional Cancer Treatment Center
The St. Charles Regional Cancer Treatment Center serves as the primary resource and referral center for cancer patients in Central and Eastern Oregon. This facility offers cutting-edge cancer treatments and technology, along with a wide range of education and support services for cancer patients. The goal is simply to provide the best care available anywhere. Only one in four hospitals that treat cancer patients receive accreditation as a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer. St. Charles Regional Cancer Treatment Center is one of them.