Becca Rotman wasn’t diagnosed with bone cancer. She didn’t have her leg amputated. She wasn’t in and out of hospital by the age of 7.

Although she didn’t experience the disease firsthand, Becca was hit hard with the ramifications of cancer.

Becca’s sister, 9-year-old Samantha, was diagnosed with bone cancer two years ago, and the family has been forced to adapt ever since.

“Rebecca is asked to be patient, understanding and compassionate all the time when she is only 10 years old herself,” said the girls’ mother, Shari Rotman. “It’s tough at a young age to always be thinking about someone else.”

The Teddy Bear Foundation recently recognized Becca for her role as a big sister, giving her a Sibling of the Year award, giving her a variety of toys, books and DVDs as a reward.

“I really couldn’t say anything. I hugged them a lot,” said Becca. “Mom had told me the plumber was coming that day so it would be a surprise. I didn’t understand why I had to brush my hair just for the plumber.”

After Samantha’s leg was amputated, children at school often didn’t know how to react.

“A lot of times at school kids would be rude and would stare at me,” said Samantha. “Becca always would stand up for me.”

During the times Samantha was in the hospital, Becca would stay either with friends or with her grandparents, and her parents’ time was often occupied.

“She had a lot of support from Bow Elementary School. She had a very strong team there,” said Shari. “Her fourth-grade teacher, the principal, school nurse, school psychologist all made those extra steps to make sure they were there for her with homework or things on her mind that she wasn’t able to talk about.”

While at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Samantha often asked her parents for her big sister, although she joked, “Then when she got there, I didn’t want her there anymore.”

At the hospital, Becca took on a variety of roles.

“She made me feel better and made me cards. She made me things,” said Samantha. “I remember she would always push my wheelchair around when we would go places.”

Becca said she has grown through the experience.

“I’ve also learned to be a little more responsible,” she said. “I’ve made a lot more friends. I had a lot of friends before, but some didn’t know what I was going through.”

Shari Rotman agrees that her daughter has matured.

“We were asking her to be more responsible or feel more responsible than more kids do at that age. She was trying to do it and know that she had to for all the right reasons,” said Shari. “She’s definitely become a more compassionate person. We were dealing with a good stock anyway, but I’ve seen her reach out more toward people with physical and developmental disabilities.”

Many organizations are in place for children battling cancer and other diseases, but Rotman said she hopes Becca could, as an adult, create a cause that helps siblings of the children affected.

Though Rotman said her daughters fight like most other siblings, Samantha’s cancer has helped bring them together.

“They are very, very close. When the cards are down and Sammy’s feeling her worst, she was always asking for Becca,” said Rotman. “The whole experience, Sammy knows Becca always has her back, and Becca accepts her.”