Ohio State honors superstars of support every year through Step Up for Stefanie’s Champions, which recognizes caregivers who played vital roles in the cancer journeys of loved ones. Meet one of our 2021 Champions, Bethany Lockwood, who was nominated by breast cancer survivor Lori Brisbin-Shepler. “This is not a good time” “I was diagnosed with bilateral breast cancer in April, 2017. I wasn't really that surprised because my mom and my sister both had breast cancer, but I was very overwhelmed,” Lori says. “The first thought that came to my mind was, ‘This is not a good time. My daughter's getting married in September and that needs to be the focus right now.’ But obviously, I couldn't wait because it's not safe to do that. So, I reached out to Bethany and told her what was going on.” “I was actually in my last year of medical residency, so I was finishing my training before going into my fellowship in hospice and palliative medicine,” Bethany says. “So, I remember when she had first told me I was actually leaving a shift, and I think initially also probably had the same emotional response that she did, which was a sense of overwhelming and needing to acknowledge that.” “I really just needed to be her daughter” “She immediately shifted into high gear and organized my life,” Lori says. “It was the best thing she could have done for me because I was completely overwhelmed. In spite of the fact that she's a doctor and works millions of hours, was planning her own wedding... she had to deal with this on top of it. She was amazing, she was at every appointment, every chemotherapy, every surgery — she found me the best doctors at the Stefanie Spielman Center.” “It's challenging to serve in multiple roles,” Bethany says. “There were times where I needed to think ‘Okay, I need to put my daughter hat on here, or I need to put my doctor hat on here.’ She had amazing doctors, so I really just needed to be her daughter.” “I grew up being a cheerleader” “I was very afraid of going into my bilateral mastectomy surgery — I wasn't sure what to expect,” Lori says. “She was just so supportive and optimistic that it was going to be fine, and I was going to get through it with flying colors, and I was going to be cured. I just kept all those positive thoughts in my head going through that surgery.” “I grew up being a cheerleader,” Bethany says. “I really recognized that this was going to be a challenging journey, and there were going to be lots of ups and downs and uncertainty throughout. I just wanted her to always have hope, so I wanted to be able to give that to her. I think that's a gift that I can give and something that I can generally do fairly well.” “It was the best day ever” “On her wedding day, I forgot I had cancer because I was so happy for Bethany,” Lori says. “She found the most wonderful man, and she was embraced into another family that adored her. It was just wonderful to have all the family and friends there and watch how happy the two of them were. I didn't even think about [cancer] for a minute because it was all about her and John that day and their happily ever after. I was grateful to be there.” “I had both my parents walk me down the aisle, which was really important to me and really special, given the strength that my mom showed on that day and how much she put me and John first and just celebrated with us,” Bethany says. “It was the best day ever, and it was just so much fun to be able to celebrate that with her, and she's right — it was as if she didn't have cancer that day. The focus was on just celebrating and being together as a family.” Honor Bethany and other cancer caregivers by registering or the 2021 Virtual Step Up for Stefanie’s Champions Walk/Run.