Allow me to introduce myself. You know, I really don’t like reading articles or passages that start with that sentence. But after typing it and hashing it over for a bit, it makes the most sense for how I want to begin this cancer blog journey with you.
After all, we should know each other first, right? So here it goes.
My name is Debbie Goforth. I am a wife (my husband, David, and I have been married since 2012) and mother to two adult children. David and I live in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex with our three cats (because … well … you can’t have just one cat!).
As much as I love my community, I’m not a native Texan.
I grew up in Lima, Ohio, with my younger sister and my parents. Dad was a firefighter; mom was a nurse. I lived in Lima until I was in my early 20s and married with a young son. In 1994, I moved to LaPorte County, Indiana, where I lived for the next 18 years. In 2010, I went through a divorce and really poured myself into my career as a personal banker for a large regional bank. In 2012, I met David. And it wasn’t long before we moved 20 miles across the state line.
Stevensville, Michigan … lovely place! We lived there for seven years before packing up and moving to the greater Phoenix area in 2019. My daughter lived there, and we were tired of the cold winters with lake-effect snow.
If you’ve ever lived in Michigan, you know snow is always measured in feet, not inches!
In April 2021, we moved to the Dallas area to be closer to my family after my Dad’s passing.
That’s me … in less than 300 words.
But here’s the important part, and why I hope you’ll keep reading …
My name is Debbie Goforth, and I am a full-time stage 4 breast cancer warrior!
Welcome to the Go Forth With Purpose Blog!
My breast cancer journey started inconspicuously in July 2024 when I noticed a rash on my breast. I first thought it was probably heat-related because … Texas in July!
I had never felt any lumps in my breasts and had been vigilant about annual mammograms. But over the next few weeks, the rash started getting bigger and changing in appearance, from just being red to very itchy and kind of scaly. After several doctor’s appointments and tests, I had a biopsy done on October 11.
On October 15, 2024, I learned that I have inflammatory HER2-positive, hormone-negative breast cancer. After even more tests and scans, it was confirmed 16 days later that I was stage 4. Right off the bat! The cancer was showing in my spine and pelvic bones, my right breast, right armpit, and too many lymph nodes to count.
I have always been an overachiever, but this is NOT one battle I would have chosen to excel in!
I subsequently started immunotherapy injections and also did four rounds of chemotherapy, which were so HARD—physically, emotionally, and mentally.
The chemotherapy wiped out almost all of the initial cancer (including the bones and majority of lymph nodes). That part was great.
But in March 2025, a mass showed up on my thyroid. I was also diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes due to the cancer treatment drugs. I started on medication for the diabetes and had a complete thyroidectomy in April; the mass on my thyroid turned out to be benign—no cancer.
Through all of that, I continued to work full-time as a branch manager for a local community bank. I loved my career and the employer that I worked for, and honestly … what was I going to do if I quit working? Just sit around and be sick? But in June, the side effects of treatment started to really affect me mentally and physically—neuropathy, fatigue, brain fog, anxiety—and I was finding it harder to function every day.
I started a medical leave and have not returned to work since then.
I am now on long-term disability and probably will be for a long time.
Since January 2025, I have been on immunotherapy injections every 21 days and will continue in some form of active treatment for the rest of my life—whether that’s six months or 20 years.
I Equated Work With Living—Oh, How Wrong I Was!
I was terrified of having to quit working. I literally felt that if I quit working, I was giving up and quitting on life. If you’ve felt the same way, I’m here to tell you that is NOT TRUE.
Through this blog, I will share with you how wrong I was.
I will also share lessons that I have learned and how I have found purpose and meaning while living with stage 4 breast cancer.
I am going to share about how to turn “what ifs” into “so whats” and “why nots.”
I will talk about pivoting in life, riding through the waves without drowning, and discovering and defining what my purpose in life looks like now.
Then, I am going to challenge YOU to take those lessons and apply them to your own life, wherever you find yourself, and preferably not wait until a life-changing health diagnosis to do so. Why? Well, I genuinely believe it’s never too late to find your purpose and meaning in life—even while living with stage 4 cancer!
This is the first entry in a series of future blog posts! Join me on my journey, won’t you?
