The ones who steadfastly stand beside us, and inspire us to strength.
The ones who will not retreat from fear, and inspire us to courage.
The ones who sacrifice all for us, and inspire us to love.
The ones who will not let go, and inspire us to hold on.
These are Stefanie's Champions.
Meet Our 2020 Champions
Teri Baum
Nominated by her friend, Tina Lee
Tina Lee was diagnosed with breast cancer on Oct. 17, 2018. “I was shocked and terrified,” she says.
Then, Teri Baum, her friend and fellow teacher at the Our Lady of Perpetual Help School, stepped in to help. “She told me, ‘You are my priority — anything you need, I’m here for you,’” Tina says.
In recognition of her devotion to the friend she calls her sister, Teri Baum is one of four recipients of the 2020 Stefanie’s Champions Award, which honors caregivers who give so much of themselves to others.
Teri was able to anticipate many of Tina’s needs because of her own cancer journey. She was diagnosed with cervical cancer 17 years ago and was treated at the OSUCCC – James. “I was pregnant with my fifth child at the time,” she says. “So, I could relate to Tina on that level of having children and a family. I get it; I was there.”
Tina has two daughters, who were 13 and 11 at the time of her diagnosis.
"I told her, 'This is where I’m supposed to be,'” says Teri, who went into full organizational mode after Tina’s diagnosis. Teri planned a meal train among friends that continued for five months, and she took Tina to the Stefanie Spielman Comprehensive Breast Center for tests and treatments, while “[trying] to take my mind off all the serious stuff by trying to teach me to crochet,” Tina says.
During her own cancer treatment, Teri learned that it’s OK to ask for help — that friends and family want to pitch in. “We’re similar,” Teri says. “We do for others, and when you’re in the position of being the receiver of help, it can be difficult. You don’t want to ask.”
Tina didn’t have to ask for help, as Teri was there from the start.
Tina’s chemotherapy treatments lasted for five months. Whenever she was at the Spielman Center for chemotherapy, the texts and photos would start pinging on her smartphone. “No one fights alone,” says Teri, who took scores of photos of Tina’s fellow teachers and her students. “I’d send her pictures every 15 minutes or half-hour to make the time go by for her. For her first [chemotherapy] treatment, everyone wore pink.”
Tina celebrated a year of being cancer-free on May 6, 2020. Throughout the day, the texts congratulating her and wishing her well poured in. “Teri struck again!” she says.
Being recognized as a Step Up for Stefanie’s Champion is special for Teri. “When Tina called to tell me, I was blown away and told her, ‘I met [Spielman],’” Teri says. “I was at a dinner many years ago and Stefanie was the speaker and she was awesome. She said, ‘Who takes their children to Disney World after they’re done with their cancer treatment?’ I did and she did too. I felt this instant connection with her, and I got to talk with her after the dinner.”
Sam Gifford
Nominated by his mom, Marcy Gifford
When his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014, Sam Gifford took her by the hand and told her everything would be OK and that he’d be there for her.
“And he was,” Marcy Gifford says.
Sam was 11 at the time and had just finished fifth grade. Nominated by Marcy, Sam is one of four recipients of the 2020 Stefanie’s Champions Award that recognizes and honors cancer caregivers.
“The most remarkable thing about Sam is that, this is your mom, and the word ‘breast’ is not an easy thing for any boy, especially when you’re 11,” Marcy says. “He never hesitated to share our story, and he will tell anyone who will listen the good, the bad, the ugly, the scary parts, the hope and the funny parts. This allows other people to realize it’s a journey.”
Marcy and Sam’s cancer journey included matching shaved heads.
Sam had just learned that Marcy would soon begin her chemotherapy treatments at the Stefanie Spielman Comprehensive Breast Center, and that hair loss was inevitable. “We’re so close and I couldn’t sleep, thinking about it and worrying about it,” Sam says. “She was downstairs — she was sleeping in a chair because it was too uncomfortable for her to lie down. I said, ‘Mom, I’m going to shave my head with you.’”
Because he attends a Catholic school that doesn’t allow shaved heads, Sam received permission from his principal and parish priest. “I told him he didn’t have to do it — that I wouldn’t have done it for him,” Marcy jokes.
Sam insisted.
After Marcy’s surgery, seven surgical drains were attached to her body, which made it hard for her to move around and shower. Sam noticed and “invented” a special drain chain for his mom that utilized cords and safety pins. “He devised it all on his own and surprised me with it,” Marcy says, adding that she slipped it around her neck, and it worked, making moving around a lot easier.
Perhaps Sam should patent his invention? “I’m thinking about it,” he jokes.
Sam says his mother’s cancer journey made their close relationship even closer. “As a person, it made me a lot more willing to help anybody,” he says, adding that friends whose parents or grandparents are diagnosed with cancer come to him and ask him what to do and how to help their loved ones. “What I tell them is that it’s one of those things where you just have to watch, and anything you see that they need, don’t ask, just do it. That cuts out the time that they have to struggle to a minimum so they can be as comfortable as possible during their fight.”
Marcy wasn’t surprised by her son’s caregiving heroics. “He’s wise beyond his years, and he has a heart that few people have, and he doesn’t hesitate to jump in where he’s needed."
Carolyn Francis
Nominated by her sister, Carla Bailey
Carla Bailey was diagnosed with breast cancer and quickly scheduled for surgery in the spring of 2013. She was the mother of five children, and her husband, Jonathon, a colonel in the Army, was in Atlanta and about to be deployed to Iraq. Those were difficult, stressful times for Carla and her family.
“My sister really stepped up and took on a big part of the burden,” Carla says of twin Carolyn Francis, one of four recipients of the 2020 Stefanie’s Champions Award that recognizes and honors caregivers, the often-unsung heroes of cancer journeys. Carla and Carolyn are identical twins and have had a special bond since birth. They intuitively seem to know how their other half is feeling and what she needs. “You basically just have to do what has to be done,” says Carolyn, who runs her own business but put her work and personal life on hold for her sister. “I moved into her house and slept in the same bed with her. I was there the whole time to make sure she was taken care of. Carla has a special-needs daughter, and I made sure she was taken care of.”
Carolyn organized a meal train, scheduled family and friends to visit and help clean, provided some financial support and went with Carla to all of her medical appointments, including chemotherapy treatments. Whatever needed to be done, Carolyn made sure it was done. “I think the hardest part for any caregiver is the feeling of helplessness,” Carolyn says. “You feel like you’re doing everything you can, but you still feel like you could be doing even more. You can’t take your sister’s pain away, and it’s such a hard journey.”
Because they are identical twins, Carolyn was also concerned about the possibility that the sisters had an inherited genetic mutation that increased breast cancer risk, so Carla underwent genetic testing at the OSUCCC – James. “It was negative, which was a relief, and since we’re identical twins, that meant I was also negative,” Carolyn says. “Since we do have a family history, I get tested regularly and make sure our family members are aware and get tested.”
Carla and Carolyn say their faith was a large part of their shared cancer journey. “Our church is getting together for the virtual Step Up for Stefanie’s Champions run,” Carla says. “We’re such big supporters of the Stefanie Spielman Comprehensive Breast Center. There are other members of our church who have been treated there, and the run is so important for us.”
About five years after her initial diagnosis, Carla felt a lump in her armpit. “They found more cancer,” she says, adding that her breast cancer had metastasized and spread to her brain. She was treated at the Spielman Center again. “My frame of mind is I’m comforted in knowing that my doctors, who are now my friends, care a lot about me and are doing everything they can, and that my twin sister and my husband, who’s retired from the military, are here and doing everything with me.”
Being a caregiver has been an educational experience for Carolyn. “I learned how strong my sister is and all about the beautiful family of breast cancer survivors. We’ve met a lot of people through this journey — some of them still here and some of them not — and to see their strength has made me a champion for all survivors.”
Andrew Adams
Nominated by his sister, Marilyn Jaye Saum
Marilyn Jaye Saum was 25, and her younger brother Andrew Adams was 14, when their mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Less than a decade later, in 2010, their mother passed away. “She fought so hard, so courageously, with a beautiful spirit and smiled every step of the way,” Marilyn says.
Eight years after the loss of her mother, Marilyn was also diagnosed with breast cancer. She was shocked, but Andrew immediately leapt into “caregiver extraordinaire mode,” according to his older sister. In recognition of his compassion, love and commitment, Andrew is one of the four recipients of the 2020 Stefanie’s Champions Award that recognizes and honors caregivers, the often unsung heroes of cancer journeys.
“Seeing the effect it had on my mom, and not being able to do that much myself when my sister was diagnosed, I said, ‘Now I’m in a place and at an age where I can step up and help out,'” Andrew says. “Because of our bond, she knew I’d be there for her.”
Andrew—a professional actor with the Know Theatre in Cincinnati — went with his sister to every clinic appointment and treatment session, and he was there during her surgery to remove the cancer and a subsequent reconstructive procedure. On a regular basis, he drove from his Cincinnati home to pick up Marilyn in Dayton and then on to Columbus and the Stefanie Spielman Comprehensive Breast Center for appointments and treatments. He also set up a room for his sister at his home, complete with sunflowers and color-coded notes that made it easy for Marilyn to know which medications to take and when to take them.
“He changed my bandages, my drainage bags, fed me and made sure I was hydrated,” Marilyn says. “He even helped me to the bathroom and in the shower.”
On the day before Marilyn’s surgery, Andrew drove her to Columbus, where he checked into a nearby hotel and went on a reconnaissance mission. “We went to The James and did almost a trial run — where to park, where we go in and where to take her,” Andrew says. “It was so all the emotions and the early fog wouldn’t get in the way the next morning.”
There was never a doubt that Andrew would be there for Marilyn. “My sister and I have always had a close relationship,” he says.
Recently, Marilyn sent her brother a card, which read, “From the beginning, you were there doing whatever it took to keep me and the boys in a state of calm. With our mantra being, ‘We’ve got this,’ we were truly all in this together. I cannot thank you enough for putting your life on hold in order to help me get mine back on track. You have made me beyond proud, and you have made our mum in heaven beyond proud.”