Bonnie Briscoe was diagnosed with breast cancer four years ago. She underwent a lumpectomy, chemotherapy and radiation.

“They thought they got it all,” said Briscoe, 46, of Olympia.

But they didn’t.

Now battling Stage IV cancer that has spread and is considered terminal, Briscoe is using her handiwork skills to help others who are facing the disease. She recently designed a line of embroidered baseball caps with the word “Hope,” featuring a pink cancer ribbon in place of the “o.”

Briscoe also sells a line of hats that feature one of her favorite sayings. “It says: ‘I’ll trade you bad hair days,’” she said with a chuckle.

Proceeds from the hat sales go to the

oncology center’s patient assistance fund, which benefits patients when finances are an issue, and is used to pay for patient programs such as movie nights and clinics on how to apply makeup when your eyebrows and eyelashes have fallen out.

“It’s just part of her outreach, and I just think it’s very inspiring that she’s doing that with everything she has on her plate,” said Dr. Nicole Grous, Briscoe’s oncologist, who calls her “one of the bravest women I’ve ever met.”

“The hats are a way of her reaching out and helping others. People see those hats, and it’s almost like a bond. It’s like, ‘That’s me right now.’”

So far, Briscoe has sold about 50 hats and has raised more than $400 for the patient assistance fund. She creates them on a machine that was used for her former home-based business, B-Attitudes and Embroidery, which she opened in 2003.

DRAWING INSPIRATION

After undergoing aggressive treatment for breast cancer in the spring of 2005, Briscoe thought she had licked it. But in the fall of 2007, she learned the disease was back with a vengeance.

“They took out the ovary and cyst and there were breast cancer cells in it,” Briscoe said. “They did a scan, and found it was all through my bones, my liver and some of my lymph nodes.”

She describes the news was “quite devastating” at first. But she credits her husband, Lloyd Briscoe, who works for the state Department of Transportation, for keeping her grounded. He successfully fought leukemia 31 years ago.

“He’s one of the first longtime survivors of a bone-marrow transplant,” Bonnie Briscoe said. “He’s amazing. ... And I picked up a lot on his attitude.”

FOCUSING ON THE GIFTS

She says the doctors, nurses and staff members at Capital Oncology have become her second family. And she said she’s received great comfort and support from members of her church, Neighborhood Christian Center in Tumwater. Church members have provided meals, given her rides to appointments, and keep Bonnie and her health in their constant prayers.

Briscoe says it’s her faith that’s helped her continue a regimen that includes chemotherapy once a week, blood transfusions and a medication that prevents blood vessels from feeding the tumor.

“My pastor always says: ‘When something bad happens, you can either get bitter or get better,’” she said.

For her, the hats are a way to stay creative and hopeful.

“When I realized that I wasn’t going to die tomorrow, I just stopped worrying about how much time I have,” Briscoe said.

“None of us know how much time we have. I think every day is a gift from God.”

hats for hope

Bonnie Briscoe’s “Hats for Hope” are available at Capital Oncology, 3920 Capital Mall Drive S.W., Suite 100, Olympia. The hats are $12 each, and come in different colors. The oncology clinic will use the proceeds for its patient assistance fund. For more information, call 360-753-4700.