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The soft, pink afghan blanket Louise White, 84, of Landover received nearly one year ago is carefully placed on her bed, and she still cherishes it.

She received the hand-crocheted blanket before having a mastectomy in February at Doctors Community Hospital in Lanham after being diagnosed with breast cancer. She was the first recipient of a blanket made by a local nonprofit organization to warm not only her body, but also her soul.

"[The blanket is] a warm and positive thing for her, when you think about such a negative thing happening [as having surgery for breast cancer]," said White's daughter, Helen Coleman, 60, also of Landover. "People you don't even know are supporting you. It helps you get through it and aren't so depressed. It gives you a will to live."

Glenn Dale-based nonprofit organization All Shades of Pink, Inc. formed officially in September, but volunteers have been donating blankets to the hospital since earlier this year, totaling 102 blankets to breast cancer surgery patients, about 12 new patients each month.

The blankets, made in varying shades of pink, keep patients at Doctors Community Hospital warm, provide comfort during recovery and treatment periods and are designed to show women they're not alone.

Denice Whalen-White of Bowie founded All Shades of Pink in September 2007 to assist women diagnosed with breast cancer and their families with non-medical advice, comfort blankets or emergency financial assistance during treatment periods.

"We don't know [the women]," said Whalen-White, who is also the corporation's president. "We've met some after— it meant a lot to them to receive the blanket."

Whalen-White and Carolyn Barnes of Lanham, a breast cancer survivor and an ASOP volunteer since 2007, approached Doctors Community Hospital, where Barnes was a patient, in February about making monthly blanket deliveries, said nurse Mary Lingebach, a women's health specialist in the hospital's Women's Center who delivers every blanket to each patient to keep.

"[ASOP volunteers] are giving this, expecting nothing in return," Lingebach said. "The ladies have no idea how many lives they touch and what the reactions are. It's such a special thing to do."

About 12 patients receive the blankets each month; they are newly diagnosed with breast cancer and are in the hospital to have mastectomies, lumpectomies or get ports surgically inserted for chemotherapy, she said.

"The commonality [of patient responses] is that they're so touched by a random act of kindness by people who don't even know them," Lingebach said. "[The patients are] in a bad place emotionally— it's a huge pick-me-up."

Phyllis Slade-Martin of Glenn Dale is ASOP's vice president and has been with the organization since its inception.

"There's a sense of community, a sense of making a difference in other people's lives," she said.

Volunteers crochet during their own time and meet once a month to crochet together.

ASOP hopes to supply two additional metropolitan area hospitals with blankets in the spring. Blankets will be sold to the public in 2009, stemming from interest from as far as Florida from the organization's Web site, Whalen-White said.

In early 2009, the corporation's emergency assistance program will also provide financial aid to breast cancer families who need help paying utility bills – electric, gas, phone, insurance – up to $750 to keep the service from being turned off. In some situations, transportation, food and medical bills may be paid.

Patients must first complete emergency assistance applications with a medical confirmation letter from their physician stating they're receiving treatment and copies of utility bills for which assistance is sought.

Also early next year, ASOP will offer a coloring book for children to help them understand what their mother is going through, including diagnosis, treatment, hair loss and recovery. The Kids Night Out program will also begin, allowing families a night out to dinner or the movies—to get out of the house and do something the family did before the diagnosis.

These programs are becoming available through donations and fundraising events.

"There are programs for women, but I'm not sure there's enough for the families," Whalen-White said.

Barnes agreed.

"You need everyone to support you— friends, family," Barnes said. "It's important for all of us to be there."

E-mail Liz Skalski at eskalski@gazette.net.

For information about ASOP, visit www.allshadesofpink.org.