Home means different things to different people. For some, home is a person or a place. Others find it in a feeling. For Linda Cooley, home is southwest Louisiana—and that’s exactly where she wants to be, even during cancer treatment. Choosing to stay local Midway through 2025, Cooley received a cancer diagnosis, news that changes everything in an instant. Her oncologist, Michael Broussard, MD, with the Cancer Center at Lake Charles Memorial, was ready to support her in seeking a second opinion out of town, as many patients do. But Cooley already knew her path. She trusted her local care team, and she wanted to stay at home, surrounded by her family and the community that had always supported her. The art of Cooley has known Lake Charles as home for many years. She was raised here, met her husband here and it’s where they raised two children. For decades, she built a career that could only be described as colorful. Affectionately known as “the glass lady,” Cooley owned and operated A Touch of Glass on Lake Street for 31 years, creating vibrant stained-glass art. Through her work, she brought to life images that caught the light and turned ordinary windows into stories of their own. Though her shop has since closed, her art and her passion live on through her daughter, who learned the craft at her side. When Cooley chose to stay in Lake Charles for treatment, she didn’t know she would healing How Linda Cooley found advanced cancer care and comfort in southwest Louisiana 18 Memorial Medical Milestones • 2026 Issue 1
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