Finding a Second Family at Winship
When Edye Bradford was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2006, she chose to be treated at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, a significant distance from her home in north Georgia. The decision changed her life in more ways than she ever expected.
“My cancer diagnosis led to one of the most enriching experiences of my life because I was treated at Winship Cancer Institute,” Bradford says. “I’ve remained cancer-free for almost 20 years, and I’ve gained a second family through the meaningful connections I made with doctors, nurses and staff throughout Emory.”
Perhaps the most significant connection she made was with Charles Staley, Winship’s chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology and the Holland M. Ware Professor of Surgery, in the Division of Surgical Oncology within the Department of Surgery at Emory University School of Medicine. “I found Dr. Staley, who really listened and was there for me,” Bradford says. “Everybody I met at Emory was so caring, from the residents to the nurses to the lady who cleaned my hospital room, who took the time to tell me about her new grandson. I never felt like I was in an institution.”
As the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in Georgia, Winship focuses on providing personalized patient care, which contributed to the “personal touch” Bradford experienced. Although she lives 100 miles from Emory, Bradford shared how easy it was to schedule both her initial surgery and subsequent appointments. “I asked that my surgery not be on my parents’ anniversary nor my husband’s birthday, and they honored that,” she says. Later on, she adds, “the schedulers worked with me so that all my appointments were on the same day, starting in the morning and into the afternoon.”
Edye and William Bradford.
Expanding her Emory family
Edye and William Bradford.
Before long, Bradford began booking a room at the Emory Conference Center Hotel during the weeks when she had medical appointments. “I’d drive down the day before to avoid traffic, but also so I could meet up with people I’d gotten to know at Emory,” she says. These “fireside gatherings” built rapport among Emory staff and faculty members whose only connection was Edye Bradford. As she recalls, “Going to Emory always felt like visiting family"—and her Emory family grew with each visit.
After completing her treatment, Bradford decided to support Emory philanthropically. “I had the surgery in 2006,” she says, “and in 2008 I made the decision to support cancer research through my estate.” When her gift is realized, it will establish The William and Edith Bradford Cancer Research Endowment, a legacy fund bearing her name and her late husband’s. “I want other people to have the same positive experiences I’ve had with Emory, so I decided to support cancer research,” she says. “When someone gives you your life back, you remember it.”
Staley describes his former patient in glowing terms. “I have been so touched by Edye’s compassion for others who are facing a cancer diagnosis,” he says. “She is optimistic, friendly and interested in everything and everyone. She draws people in, and we are all better for having met her.”
Nurturing relationships across the years
Edye Bradford and Charles Staley
Her planned gift made Bradford a member of Emory’s 1836 Society, which celebrates individuals who have included Emory in their estate plans. She has attended several of the society’s annual luncheons, making yet more Emory friends. At the 2012 luncheon, she met Ted Johnson, one of the featured speakers. Johnson is the Paul W. Seavey Endowed Chair for Internal Medicine and chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine. “I stayed afterward to thank him for his presentation, which was about finances and losing a spouse—both of which I’d dealt with,” Bradford says.
The people I’ve met here have become very dear to me, so I’m leaving my estate to my Emory family.
Bradford’s gift to Winship will help ensure that other patients have access to the same level of research-informed, yet personalized, care that she received. “I appreciate Edye Bradford’s generosity and her trust in Winship,” says Suresh S. Ramalingam, Winship’s executive director and the Roberto C. Goizueta Distinguished Chair for Cancer Research at Emory University School of Medicine. “Her thoughtful planned gift will support promising cancer research initiatives, and patients will benefit well into the future.”
And that’s exactly what Bradford wants. “I appreciate the excellent medical care I’ve received, but I also appreciate the conversations, the jokes, the humanity of everyone I encountered at Winship,” she says. “Leaving my estate to Winship for cancer research is the best decision I’ve made.”
To support Winship Cancer Institute, contact Jennifer Daly, senior director of development, at jdaly@emory.edu or 404-778-4270.
Jennifer Carlile has written for local and regional publications in Georgia and in both Carolinas, and serves as senior associate director of editorial content for Emory’s Advancement and Alumni Engagement division.
