After losing her husband to cancer and facing her own battle with the disease, a woman discovered knitting as a way to cope and find strength.

Janet Blackburn now raises funds for the Western Park Cancer Charity through her small knitting business.

Janet said: “Late 2010, my husband got oesophagus cancer and it was terminal.

“They transferred him to Western Park for palliative chemo, where he passed away in July 2011.

“A fortnight after he was diagnosed, I was diagnosed with breast cancer.”

Wester Park Cancer Charity is an organisation close to Janet.

She said: “I was transferred to Western Park and out of all the hospitals in Sheffield it really is the most fantastic place.”

The 69-year-old from Hillsborough has raised approximately £4,950 so far and aims to reach her £50,000 goal by Christmas.

After hitting her goal of £50k in the future, Janet remains committed to raising funds for the charity. She said: “I won’t stop unless I have to stop. They’ve done too much for me.”

While setting up her small knitting business ‘Janet’s knitted novelties and more’ on Facebook, Janet shared some of the challenges that she faced.

Janet said: “In January, the Tax Office made a thing that anybody who had a small business would have to pay tax on it after the first 1000 pounds. 

“So my name is not on it now and all the money goes straight to Western Park, I don’t see that money at all.”

Janet and her team knit a variety of items, including hats, scarves, baby clothes, soft toys, and even festive pieces. They cover all material costs themselves, including postage expenses.

Janet said: “I’ve always liked knitting from being young and now we just can’t stop.

“We’ve just made hundreds of pumpkins and one of the biggest things we’ve done was over the King’s coronation, we knitted crowns in purple and gold and we made over 800 pounds.”

Janet has also been busy creating Christmas cards for the upcoming festive season. 

To show your support you can follow her Facebook page here.

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