Author and journalist Helen Epstein was preparing for a book tour when the COVID-19 pandemic erupted in Boston. But a pandemic and canceled tour were not the only curveballs life would throw at her. A few weeks later, Epstein was diagnosed with uterine serous carcinoma, the most aggressive form of endometrial cancer.
Epstein details the medical steeplechase of battling cancer during COVID-19 in her recent memoir. Shaped by this experience, she began thinking about other women who were going through the same thing.
Helen with her husband, Patrick.
“It takes a village to get through cancer,” Epstein reflects. “I have a supportive spouse and extensive network of friends to lean on. Not everyone has that. Hospitals have a huge role to play in providing not just care but also ancillary support like driving, managing medications, diet and nutrition guidance, and counseling.”
A first-generation immigrant, Epstein was drawn to Boston Medical Center’s reputation as a socially conscious hospital and its welcoming and expertise in caring for immigrant patients. An inspiring meeting with Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology Kate O’Connell White, MD, cemented her decision to make a flexible $800,000 estate gift to the department of obstetrics and gynecology, with a focus on providing care and wraparound services to patients dealing with gynecological cancers.
“If you can afford to give, you should do it,” Epstein says. “I was fortunate to have a fulfilling professional life, and I was able to live frugally and save. It’s the best way to leave a legacy—to help people here in Boston.”
