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An Inspirational Life

Though all eight South Florida philanthropists who posed for the cover of Lifestyle at C&I Studio in November 2016 looked resplendent in their black high-season dresses, something about Debbie Zelman couldnโ€™t help but take your breath away.

As a cancer survivor, she defied description. In 2008, at age 40, she was diagnosed with Stage IV stomach cancer. The five-year survival rate for such an aggressive form of that particular disease was 4 percent. One prognosis gave Zelmanโ€”a mother to twin 10-year-olds and a 3-year-old at the timeโ€”only weeks at live.

โ€œI was a practicing attorney for 16 years; I had my own firm for 10,โ€ Zelman told Lifestyle. โ€œI was used to going, going, going and running a business of my own. Then I was diagnosedโ€”and I was in bed for a year.

โ€œMy kids spent a lot of time with me that year, and my son (one of the twins) and I talked about how we could help other people. โ€ฆ I kept meeting more and more people who were diagnosed with stomach cancerโ€”and somehow I became their mentor.โ€

Zelman, who died Dec. 23 at age 50, became much more than that. As an advocate, she became a champion and a hero. Upon discovering that the stomach cancer community did not have a nonprofit voice, she gave it one in the form of Debbieโ€™s Dream Foundation. In addition to raising awareness and providing education about stomach cancer, where none existed before, the foundation continues to fund specific research, nearly $1 million worth to date.

โ€œThere are so many problems in the world, and different groups are all trying to fund their passion,โ€ Zelman said last year. โ€œBut everybody has been affected in some way by cancer.โ€

Zelman, who died at Westside Regional Hospital in Plantation, is survived by her husband, Andrew Guttman, and her childrenโ€”Zachary and Rachel (now 19), and Sarah (12).

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