Donated hat collection intended to lift cancer patients' spirits

Cathy Nilson collected 113 hats from 11 different states while she fought breast cancer.

On Wednesday night she donated her hats so other people could use them during their cancer fights.

The presentation was part of a cancer survivors celebration Wednesday at the Northwestern Medicine Grayslake Outpatient Center. It featured a discussion about the latest advances in cancer treatments, clinical trials and research.

Nilson, a 57-year-old mother of three from Lindenhurst, was diagnosed with breast cancer in November and had surgery to remove a lump and one lymph node.

She had her first chemotherapy treatment on New Year's Eve, and radiation treatments followed.

To cope, she prescribed an infusion of hats for herself. Her headgear, which filled two tubs, includes cowboy hats, sun hats, stocking caps, baseball caps, fedoras, knit caps, fuzzy caps and one personalized creation topped with a giant green olive that she called a South Dakota Martini - a frosted glass, bottle of Miller Lite beer and a handful of olives.

The collection, built by relatives, friends, co-workers, customers and even strangers, showed up in Facebook photos of her wearing a new hat every day, but it also provided an emotional accessory to her fight against breast cancer.

"People coming in here going through the same thing, they can pick out a hat, something that makes them happy, makes them feel good makes them regress to a happier time," Nilson said.