TEXARKANA MAGAZINE
On June 9, 2025, Laurie rang the bell signaling the end of chemotherapy, with family and friends waiting to celebrate alongside her.
Laurie Galloway marks the final round on her 16-round chemotherapy countdown.
report. Instead of relying solely on paperwork, their pathology team requested her actual biopsy tissue to review it firsthand. By the time Laurie walked through the doors for her initial consultation, the doctors had already thoroughly analyzed her case and knew her story. Laurie remembers, “At the time, I thought I was handling it pretty well. But that night, in the middle of the night, I woke up in a full-blown panic attack. Ray and I sat there in the dark and cried together. And then, somehow, we reached that place where you stop, you decide, ‘Okay. We can do this. We’re ready to fight.’” And fight she did. Comprehensive imaging and expert pathology at MD Anderson revealed a rare and daunting reality: while the left breast showed DCIS with mucin production (hormone-positive, HER2-negative), the right breast contained a completely separate primary cancer—triple-negative invasive ductal carcinoma. Atypical, uncommon, complex? An understatement. Laurie now faced two distinct diagnoses. “I didn’t even know it was possible to have two separate primary breast cancers. I remember thinking that I needed to start buying cards for the kids for all the holidays I am going to miss. I needed to plan presents for them for their graduations, weddings, and the birth of their children.” Breaking the news to her children was one of the hardest parts of the journey. Laurie’s son, understandably, collapsed into tears. Her daughter coped by trying a joke, commenting that Laurie would look funny bald. Offering comfort, Laurie reminded her son of one of his favorite songs, “The Rabbit” by Ray Wylie Hubbard. “‘Are ya gonna make it?’ she asked the rabbit in her mind. ‘Ya gonna make it?’ she repeated. ‘Are ya gonna make it?’ And the rabbit answered, ‘Well, I got to.’”
At that moment, Laurie realized she was the rabbit, and she was determined to make it. Later that night, when the house was quiet, she found Lynnley crying silently in her bed. She had been brave and courageous all evening but had carried her fear alone. “Just like me,” Laurie remembers. “Oh, that moment. It changed me.” Laurie’s wisdom told her that no one should have to conceal their fear. “Strength does not mean silence. And bravery isn’t hiding your feelings.” During the next few months, Laurie would need both strength and bravery. Her treatment plan moved quickly. On December 20, 2024, she underwent a double mastectomy with right-side lymph node dissection. Post-operative pathology showed additional invasive cancer on the left side, requiring a second surgery for lymph node removal and margin resection. To combat the aggressive triple-negative cancer, Laurie endured 16 rounds of grueling chemotherapy. Cancer patients often use battle terms to express the physical and mental fortitude needed. It is the closest language that can conjure the truth of the war raging inside. They are fighting a disease, but also fighting it with a weapon that causes havoc of its own. Laurie’s physical and emotional scars are the battle wounds of chemo side effects: severe fatigue, hair loss, neuropathy. But the disease, along with the medicine, warred against identity as well. And that is why cancer patients need community. They need people who will help lift the load, fight alongside them, cheering and crying with them. On June 9, 2025, Laurie rang the bell to mark the end of chemotherapy. The greatest gift, however, waited in the lobby.
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LIFE & STYLE
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