Anjee Davis, CEO of Fight Colorectal Cancer, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“I have had a hard time processing this loss. Not sure how to start this.
I first met Phuong Ly-Gallagher at Call on Congress when she was a Colon Clubber. She was wearing a tutu and a tank top, and I remember looking around thinking, who is that lady? That lady became my friend for more than a decade.
Phuong was tiny, but do not let that fool you. She was strong in a way that did not need to announce itself. She was quiet, but she was never absent. She paid attention. She listened. She showed up. And when she spoke, I never knew what she would say. I mean that in the best way possible.
She lived with colorectal cancer for nearly two decades. Diagnosed with stage III rectal cancer at 29. Symptoms dismissed. Hard choices made quickly. Recurrences. Treatments. Pain. Hope. More decisions than any one person should ever have to make.
And still, she would text me…where do you need me? Happy to go. She showed up. For her family. For her friends. For other patients. For our CRC community.
She came to Call on Congress until she couldn’t. She stood alongside hundreds of survivors and advocates. She helped make sure the patient voice was not decoration. She made sure patient values, patient needs, and patient choices were part of the conversation.
Back in the day she shared her story with the The Colon Club and then she helped lead it. She served as president and volunteered her time, energy, and heart to make sure the organization could grow and continue its mission. She understood what The Colon Club meant to young survivors and patients who often felt unseen. She protected that spirit. And when The Colon Club became part of Fight CRC, Phuong trusted us to honor its ethos, its community, and its mission. And we will. Her leadership will always be attached to it.
After The Colon Club merged with Fight CRC, Phuong joined our team to support RATS and help patients and survivors see themselves as more than storytellers. She helped them understand their voice as research advocates, partners, and leaders. Her first priority was to call each RAT personally and make sure they felt supported. She believed wholeheartedly that patients needed to be at the table where research decisions are made.
Always advocating. Helping others. That was Phuong’s superpower. After her calls she would text me to tell me how we could be better. I loved it.
This last year, she called me. She was calm and clear. She had chosen how her treatment would go, and when it would end. She was not second guessing her life. She knew she had done good in the world. What a gift to know that. What a gift to leave that behind. For me, she gave me great memories of us laughing, advocating, and these, forever saved, text messages to remind me why we do what we do.
I have lost too many friends to colorectal cancer. Too many. And there are some I carry very close to my heart because they remind me why we fight, why we advocate, and why we keep showing up. Phuong is one of those people.
Phuong, you will be missed. You will never be forgotten. And we will keep fighting.”
Other articles featuring Phuong Ly-Gallagher and Anjee Davis on OncoDaily.