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Sewing seeds of hope l Community Cares
When Shelia Calvert was diagnosed with breast cancer, she was certain she would beat it, and she did. What she didn't know was that the cancer would return. That just meant Shelia had to fight harder and that's exactly what she is doing, all while helping others. FOX 10's Anita Roman reports.
PHOENIX - Turning on her sewing machine is therapy for Shelia Calvert.
On a good day, she’ll sit for hours stitching fabric and finding peace in her work.
What they're saying:
"You put this on just to give yourself more stability to hold the zipper in place," Calvert explained, demonstrating her process.
Knowing her purpose in life is to pass on the fight — to encourage others. After all, Calvert’s story is one of survival.
"I was diagnosed in 2006 with stage 3 breast cancer," she said. "I had two three-year-olds and an 11-year-old at home, and we did everything we could. We were very aggressive in treatment. If it could be taken out, it was taken out."
Calvert went into remission.
"We fought through," Calvert recalled. "You know, we did all of the whole, like, survivor — 16 chemos, 15 chemos. We had an end-of-chemo party. We had a ‘boob-bye-age’ party when I had my mastectomies. With breast cancer, there’s always that goal — you have something to focus on."
Shelia Calvert (KSAZ-TV)
In 2016 came another diagnosis. This time, the cancer was much more aggressive.
"We were going to do another party. We thought we were clear," Calvert said. "Ten years and one week, I got re-diagnosed. It came back in my skull and later progressed to my spine. I just had a really, really bad headache, and I kept smelling this really bad smell. I thought maybe a critter got into the ductwork, you know like a mouse or something.
The diagnosis was stage 3 metastatic breast cancer.
"I found myself in a really, really dark place," she said. "Really questioned, what is my purpose? I'm costing my family tons of money. We can't go do the stuff we want to do that we've always done."
The social worker at Mayo Clinic, where Calvert received treatment, suggested sewing lessons. Which ultimately led to the start of "Debbie and Me," a nonprofit named after her cousin Debbie, who fought breast cancer at the same time. Debbie passed away in 2023.
Shelia Calvert and her cousin, Debbie. (KSAZ-TV)
"My cousin Debbie and I did all of our treatments at Mayo," Calvert said. "When Debbie passed, and I found accessible clothing, I was like, I have got to honor her. She was diagnosed about a year after I with metastatic breast cancer. We had really tried to schedule appointments on the same day. When I found the accessibility shirts, that's how Debbie was brought in. That’s who Debbie is in Debbie and Me."
On a good day, Calvert can complete half a dozen shirts.
"The shirt normally you have to pull all the way down," she explained. "With this, you can see my port where I get all my medicine and all of my testing through there. Instead of ruining the shirt, they access it and zip it back up. A lot of times, you don’t even have to keep it unzipped for the procedure."
The shirts are thrifted, donated, repurposed — and each one is unique.
"These are the packets after they’re done — it tells side and your access," Calvert said.
Each shirt is packed with love and donated to patients at Mayo Clinic.
"Oh, it’s such a great feeling," Calvert said. "A lot of them didn’t even know it was an option. I didn’t know it was an option. I had never heard of them before. That is a game changer. That makes treatment so much easier."
The Source: FOX 10's Anita Roman gathered information for this story.