Remembering Christine

I met Christine attending my second Cervivor School in Iowa 2016. The moment we met, I knew she was supposed to be in my life. I felt an instant connection with her. Christine was facing another round of treatment and she was scared about this one. She shared with me her thoughts about going through it again and how her faith, family and friends were going to get her through it. She and I shared a lot that weekend in Iowa and remained in contact after the school. Christine didn’t know it at the time but, she had a profound impact on me and my advocacy going forward.

At Cervivor School we covered a wide range of topics and we were discussing what one person can do to start to make a change. We were talking about breast cancer awareness and how that movement all started. There was some frustration in the room as some ladies were talking about all the awareness that is brought on by the pink campaign. I happened to glance over at Christine and saw her visibly upset. What she said next changed my perspective about breast cancer awareness in general.  She showed the group photos of her coworkers supporting her. They were all dressed in pink shirts with a teal ribbon on them. She told us pink was her favorite color and she didn’t see anything but support and love from this group of who had made the shirts in her honor. She saw the ribbon, not the color of the shirt. It was in this moment, I realized how silly I had been over the pink ribbon. After all, it’s just a color that has long been associated with women. She and I talked about this particular moment and how that frustration was often misdirected. I promised her I would do what I could to change the narrative and I have tried very hard to keep my promise to her. One way was to write The Fight For Teal and White blog entry.

Christine didn’t feel the most comfortable advocating to the level some of our Cervivor school graduates do, but she did do it in her own way with her family, friends, and coworkers. She was truly a special lady who was taken from us far too soon.

Christine, my promise to you remains . . .

 

Paulette Apostolou resides in Illinois with her loving husband and two rescue Miniature Pinschers. She is the owner/designer of ThePartyDeeva.com and founder of Operation Teal; an awareness ribbon campaign she founded in 2016 after attending Cervivor School Louisville. She is the 2017 Cervivor Champion Award recipient Contact [email protected] She is available for speaking/advocacy events. Read Paulette’s story here.