The Malaga teacher using knitting to reclaim time and calm in the cancer wards

When breast cancer knocked on her door for the second time, Inma Molina took refuge among needles and balls of yarn to combat the anxiety of treatment sessions and medical tests.

Now, she is promoting an inspiring initiative to bring the practice of knitting directly to the wards and waiting rooms of Malaga's hospitals.

Inma Molina received her first devastating diagnosis in March 2023: breast cancer. At the time, she used her admirable fortitude and a trademark smile to overcome the onslaught of the disease. She beat it, proving herself to be one "tough cookie".

However, in January of this year, she suffered a recurrence. Once again, she was forced to fit together the difficult puzzle of chemotherapy, medical tests, and the long, draining downtime at the Hospital Clínico Universitario Virgen de la Victoria in Malaga.

"It sucks," she admits candidly. In this second chapter, while waiting for an appointment with her oncologist, she found herself mesmerised by the calm of a woman knitting in the waiting room - concentrating on her stitches, oblivious to her mobile phone and the hospital hustle.

"One afternoon when I was in a loop waiting for results, and I was not able to do anything, I remembered her. I went down to the bazaar to get a couple of needles and a ball of wool. That night I knitted my first stitches, and what happiness I had while I was doing it," explains the Malaga native. This sparked the idea for Cancer y Punto (Cancer and Knitting), an initiative aimed at transforming waiting rooms into spaces of creative peace.

Following those first stitches, the secondary school teacher and mother of two - José and Julián - opened an Instagram profile (@cancerypunto) to share her creations and the evolution of her treatment. By then, an internal light bulb had gone off. She realised that wool and needles could be offered as a vital support activity for patients and their families. It required little investment but offered "many benefits."

"I think that knitting makes those moments more bearable; you can even see those waiting times as a moment for yourself," reflects the 44-year-old. "When you have chemo, you don't always have the focus for a book. Reading requires an intellectual exercise that may be difficult at certain times. Knitting, on the other hand, is mechanical: you get away from the stress and create something for yourself or as a gift."

She believes the activity evokes a powerful connection with the past: "Our grandmothers knitted or crocheted; it is part of our ancestry and yet remains very current."

Inma quickly rolled up her sleeves. Through persistent meetings and social media outreach, the project took shape alongside associations authorised to work in hospitals. In Antequera, the initiative has already been launched by Corazones Solidarios, a non-profit promoting health and solidarity.

"Soon we hope to offer the initiative in the Comarcal hospital there; they have already approved it," insists Molina. She has also met with the Fundación Malagueña de Asistencia a Enfermos de Cáncer (FMAEC), an organisation that provides psychological support at the Clínico hospital, where her own "knitting envelopes" have already begun to arrive.

The Antequera hospital will be the first to receive these "knitting envelopes," offered free of charge to patients. "Inside the envelope, there are needles, a ball of wool, a simple pattern, a letter explaining the initiative, and a QR code leading to the website my husband built, featuring video tutorials," she says excitedly.

The project relies on materials donated anonymously via social networks. Inma clarifies there is no economic purpose; the goal is simply to support cancer patients and promote knitting as a therapeutic, social activity. With a growing group of volunteers ready to teach, Inma is now looking toward World Knitting Day in Public this June to give even more prominence to her cause.

"The response has been marvellous," she concludes. "I have met so many people determined to help others.