lcmh.com 5 role with the Community Foundation of Southwest Louisiana. She went in for a routine mammogram, and the screening led to an early-stage breast cancer diagnosis. Galmarini had already been told that Amanda Ellington, MD; James Maze, MD; and Mohammad Khan, MD, were among the best doctors in town. When she learned all three were part of Lake Charles Memorial Health System, the decision to receive care close to home felt natural. Galmarini underwent a lumpectomy and radiation therapy while continuing to work, care for her family and move through a season of life that already felt full. Both Dr. Fontenot and Dr. Khan even gave Galmarini their personal cellphone numbers, so she had a direct line when she needed quick answers to questions or assistance navigating next steps. From treatment to today During radiation, Galmarini often came in early before heading into long days of community planning meetings. At the time, she was trying not to let cancer become her identity. She says she often felt like “the least sick cancer patient” in the room and wanted to move through treatment without being defined by it. Still, she remembers the people, like Tammy TateGobert, NP, with Memorial Radiation Oncology, who made those visits feel less clinical and more personal. Amanda Ellington, MD General and Breast Surgeon 2770 3rd Ave., Suite 120 Lake Charles, LA 70601 337-494-4868 Eric Fontenot, MD Gastroenterologist 2770 3rd Ave., Suite 345 Lake Charles, LA 70601 337-494-4785 Mohammad Khan, MD Hematologist and Medical Oncologist 2770 3rd Ave., Suite 240 Lake Charles, LA 70601 337-494-6768 A few of our experts in specialty care James Maze, MD Radiation Oncologist 1701 Oak Park Blvd. Lake Charles, LA 70601 337-494-2121 Tate-Gobert took time to ask Galmarini about her work. Those conversations helped create a sense of normalcy during a time when so much of her attention was focused on treatment. “The fact that she took the time to show interest in my life outside of my diagnosis made me more than the diagnosis,” Galmarini says. “And that’s what I wanted.” Today, Galmarini continues to receive care at Memorial for Crohn’s disease and cancer follow-up. Those appointments are part of her life—something she manages with the support of providers who know her history and understand the person behind it. Jill, pictured with her husband, Tom, daughter, Katie, and son, Riley, at a Barbe High School basketball game.
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