L-R:
Mary Cay Kollmansperger, Mary Ashton Sullivan, Karen Kollmansperger,
Jane
MacMillan, Liz Kollmansperger and Liza Needham
In 2001, when The Kollmansperger
sisters lost their father, Frank, to heart disease, their
mom was six months into her battle with ovarian cancer.
The family decided they wanted to set up the Kollmansperger
Family Fund to support The Lynne Cohen Cancer Screening
& Prevention Clinic for High Risk Women at Bellevue
Hospital Center of NYU Cancer Institute in 2002.
Turning lemons into lemonade may be a cliché, but
Liz Kollmansperger, mother of seven, did that every step
of the way: handling her ovarian cancer diagnosis and treatment
bravely and with sense of humor intact, becoming an activist
and raising awareness about the insidious nature of ovarian
cancer.
This was a woman who smiled at the sun as she strolled down
the street. She drove around her block, screeched to a halt,
tooted her horn, rolled down the window and yelled "Hey
babe!" to delighted neighbors. She took grandchildren
for Slurpees at 7 a.m. and left coveted and thoughtful treats
on doorsteps around town. She was so much more than her
diagnosis.
Liz lost her battle to ovarian cancer on Memorial Day, 2003.
She wanted her legacy to be a continued awareness campaign
for ovarian cancer. Her family continues her mission.
