The ripple effects of ovarian cancer: Nicholas Kalogeropoulos on losing his sister

·

In 2016, Helen Hatzis passed away after an eight year battle with ovarian cancer. In an interview with Body and Soul before her passing, Helen called the cancer “a bitch of a disease,” but said her “diagnosis really crystallised how lucky I am to have these people in my life.”

By “these people,” Helen was referring to her husband, two children, parents, siblings and friends. The support network she sadly left behind when she passed.

To mark Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month, The Greek Herald decided to pay tribute to not only this courageous woman, but also the people who supported her on her journey. We spoke to Helen’s brother, Nicholas Kalogeropoulos, who shares what it was like seeing his sister battling ovarian cancer, as well as how he dealt with losing her.

The difficult conversations:

In 2016, Helen Hatzis passed away after an eight year battle with ovarian cancer. Photo supplied.

According to the Ovarian Cancer Research Foundation (OCRF), one woman dies every 8 hours from ovarian cancer in Australia. In fact, if a woman is diagnosed with ovarian cancer, the chance that she will still be alive five years after is only 46%.

In Helen’s case, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2008 and lived for eight years after. But Nicholas says it was when Helen was battling her sixth occurrence of the disease that there was a shift in her attitude.

“What we found was that each time she went through remission, as the years went on, the period of remission was less and less,” Nicholas explains to The Greek Herald.

“Helen could see the writing on the wall because she was constantly down rather than up. And it was at that time that she wanted to start having conversations about death and about what happens after she dies.”

Helen and her husband, John, with their two children, Georgeena and Nicholas. Photo supplied.

Nicholas says that at first, he tried to be the ‘eternal optimist’ by encouraging Helen to focus on getting better. But a year before she passed away, he finally succumbed to having the difficult conversation.

“She basically said to me, ‘I need to talk about death. I need to talk about what’s going to happen after I go. I need to make sure that you hold the family together’,” Nicholas says.

“These were really, really difficult conversations to have with somebody who’s been your older sister all your life.”

‘It was awful. Helen was our rock’:

Only a few months later, at the tender age of 51, Helen passed away in hospital. Her death, although not unexpected, still left all her family and friends heartbroken.

Helen and her family on a holiday to Vietnam. Photo supplied.

“It was awful. Helen was our rock. She was the one who would keep all the family together,” Nicholas says.

“My mum was just wailing. She could not understand why God would take her daughter and not her. So my mum had a really, really hard time dealing with that… The last thing you want to do is bury your child.”

For others, what hurt the most was knowing Helen was going to miss important moments in the lives of her two children, Georgeena and Nicholas.

“Georgeena was about to turn 21 years old and Nicholas was about to finish Year 12 VCE. But unfortunately, she passed away I think, seven days before he got his results. It was awful.”

Remembering Helen’s kindness:

In the months after Helen’s death, her loss began to be felt. Nicholas says her children and husband ‘miss her immensely.’ For his part, Nicholas is constantly reminded of his sister, even from the smallest of things.

“As the years go on, even now, sometimes it just feels so unreal. I could be driving along, I could be at a traffic light, I could be looking at a billboard, and it will remind me of Helen. I will just sit and think for a moment, you know,” Nicholas says.

Finding ways to memoralise Helen was important to Nicholas to keep her memory alive. It’s for this reason that he holds a cocktail party, called 35+GST, every two years in her memory. His sister, Christina, and their extended family also formed the Helen’s Hope Committee to honour her life.

“Between my sister and I, I think… we’ve probably raised about $60,000 for the OCRF. It’s just our way of remembering Helen.”

A woman who was clearly more than an ovarian cancer patient. She was a wife, mother, sister, daughter, aunt and friend. Someone who, as Nicholas makes clear, will never be forgotten.

greek film festival sydney new

Advertisement

Share:

KEEP UP TO DATE WITH TGH

By subscribing you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Advertisement

Latest News

Service, culture, and unity: Greece’s new Consul General in Sydney sets out his vision

Greece’s new Consul General in Sydney, George Skemperis, speaks to The Greek Herald about diplomacy, unity, and the vibrant Greek Australians.

Greek school memories: Honouring the teachers who shaped our language and lives

Both the negative and heartfelt stories of Greek school have a way of becoming core memories for Greek Australians.

Spotlight on VCE Greek teacher Kristian Raspa

Sunday, October 5th is World Teachers’ Day and gives us the opportunity to celebrate the influential educators who have shaped our lives.

Movie ‘Arcadia’ picked for Oscars 2026 as Greek entry

The submission will represent the country at the 98th edition of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States.

Greece remains world’s maritime powerhouse in 2025

Greece continues to dominate global shipping, maintaining its position as the world’s top ship-owning nation by capacity.

You May Also Like

Chinese Traditional Medicine Centre opens in Athens

The first Chinese Traditional Medicine Centre has opened in Athens guided by the University of Chinese Medicine and the International Health Tourism Centre.

Sydney businesses win ‘light rail’ battle against NSW government

Angela Vithoulkas sought compensation against NSW government for the drawn out construction of light rail line in Sydney.

Remaining five ‘Bali Nine’ members break silence after return to Australia

The five remaining members of the Bali Nine drug smuggling group have returned to Australia after nearly two decades in Indonesian prisons.