Saturday, June 12, 2021
Chrystine was answering calls to the SHARE Ovarian Cancer helpline for three years before I became the helpline coordinator and had the privilege of getting to know this remarkable woman. This will come as no surprise to her loving, devoted husband, son, daughter-in love, grandchildren and brother: Her energy, intelligence, spunk and humor added up to remarkable support for our callers. Chrystine handled 258 calls from 2008 to 2021. That's in addition to all the outreach she did at health fairs, staying on top of the latest research and speaking to medical students as part of OCRF's Survivors Teaching Students. She told the Buffalo News that driving home after hearing her diagnosis she'd never felt so alone in her life. And she made it her business to make sure the women who came after her would not feel alone. We had much more in common than a late-stage ovarian cancer diagnosis: Zumba, a love of language, including a healthy respect for grammar, fabulous supportive husbands, shopping for quality items at good prices. When she and Richard were in town to visit NYC, we had breakfast together, and I relish that memory, our email exchanges and our hilarious phone calls. Richard, Jason, Joyelle, Roman, Ava, and George -- may all the good memories you have of Chrystine comfort you in this time of sorrow and be a blessing to you. Gosh, Chrystine, I hope this tribute to you is grammatically correct. But I'm sure you'll let me know when next we meet. Love, Andrea
