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 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 lay 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.