No one would have blamed Debbie Goforth for becoming an emotional wreck after her breast cancer diagnosis last October. After all, she heard the official news on a whim when she decided to review her digital MyChart medical records on a weekday evening—fast access to raw data, for sure, but no doctor to call and certainly no one to break the news to her in terms she could understand.
Even worse, it wasn’t an early-stage diagnosis.
Quite the contrary.
It was Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer, HER2 positive—the most advanced stage. Against her better judgment, she immediately went to Google and saw a five-year survival rate of around 30%.
In that moment of clarity, Debbie did what she had always done when life delivered something overwhelming.
She met it head-on, with steady resolve and an unflinching sense of perspective.
“I was just writing about this in my latest blog entry, about how I’ve always been an overachiever. So, of course, I am diagnosed with cancer and end up being Stage 4 from the beginning,” she said with a laugh. “Many women start with Stage 1, 2 or 3—my mom had Stage 0 and only needed a lumpectomy. But not me. There’s no higher stage. This is one thing I didn’t want to be exceptional in.”
Debbie, a Lewisville resident since 2021 and former branch manager for PointBank in Lewisville and Flower Mound, certainly isn’t the only cancer warrior in the world—or in southern Denton County.
According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the United States, except for skin cancers, with approximately 317,000 women being diagnosed annually. Roughly 170,000 to 200,000 women have metastatic breast cancer, meaning the disease has spread beyond its original location.
What makes Debbie’s story remarkable is not the diagnosis itself, but what she is choosing to do with it.
Almost immediately, she began documenting her experience in a long-time Facebook group called Debbie’s Cancer Journey—not as a source of medical advice, but as a place for honesty, updates and connection. Over time, that openness evolved into something more intentional.
Just recently, she launched Go Forth With Purpose, a blogging and public speaking platform aimed at advocating for anyone (men and women) living with Stage 4 cancer, regardless of what type of cancer they have, and educating them on what the diagnosis really means and how they can flip the script and make the most out of their lives.
Her countless friends will tell you it’s the perfect role for a woman who loves people and refuses to see the world through a negative lens. By advocating for other cancer patients with similar unchosen journeys, she is turning her experience into a lifeline for others—offering guidance, encouragement and a reminder that even in the hardest circumstances, purpose and connection are still possible.
“People think that after chemo, you can go into remission—that everything is OK,” Debbie said. “But there is no remission with Stage 4. It’s treatable, and I plan to be here for a very long time. But it’s not curable. So, whatever time I have left, I’m going to spend it purposefully and meaningfully by doing the things that are important to me. I desperately want that for everyone.”
She added, “You can get busy living or get busy dying. It’s never too late to start living life on your terms.”
Just a Fun-Loving Girl From Ohio
You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who doesn’t know, love and respect Debbie Goforth.
In just two years at PointBank, she found a way to ingratiate herself into a community known for its tight-knit relationships and down-home flair—earning trust not just as a banker, but as a mentor, a friend, a leader and someone who genuinely cares about people.
When people are asked why they like her so much, they’re quick to joke that it’s because she doesn’t really give you an option.
Who wouldn’t want to be friends with her instantly? She’s uniquely herself in any situation, and people not only gravitate toward that, but they want more of it in their lives. As a result, Debbie’s presence has been felt at every level, from clients to colleagues to local organizations, nonprofits and everything in between, leaving a mark that went far beyond the office walls.
Born and raised in Ohio, she was every bit the overachiever she alluded to—a straight-A student who had her fingers in every proverbial cookie jar imaginable. She was a cheerleader, a church youth group leader, and even a pianist. She did well in everything she tried and rarely failed. Failure actually gave her anxiety, so she stayed as far away from it as possible.
She went on to live in Northwest Indiana for 18 years, where she raised her now-grown kids. From there, she moved to Michigan for seven years with her second husband, David, then to Arizona, and finally to Texas when her dad passed away from COVID-19 in 2021.
Her parents and sister had been in Texas since 1993. Debbie knew nothing about the area but was unafraid to stand out.
“I’ve always been a people person and a people pleaser, so it wasn’t necessarily hard for me to make friends,” she said. “I do lunch dates, participate in the Chamber and other events—I do all of it and have made countless life-long friendships.”
But life, as it often does, had a curveball in store. Debbie’s relentless energy, people-first approach and habit of diving headlong into everything she loved would soon be tested in ways she could never have anticipated. Not long after settling into her new community and weaving herself into the lives of those around her, she received news that would change everything—news that would challenge not only her body but also the very framework of her daily life and identity.
July in Texas
Oddly enough, Debbie’s cancer journey started with a rash. It developed on her breast, and at first glance, she passed it off as nothing more than a heat rash. After all, it was July in Texas—hotter than the surface of the sun. It could happen to anyone.
But this rash was a precursor to something much worse. Over the next two or three weeks, it began spreading and became very itchy and flaky. She went to the doctor, and the rash turned out to be eczema. But several more tests and a biopsy revealed a tumor inside her breast. Debbie was caught entirely off guard, given that she was very good about self-exams and even past mammograms. This particular lump was deeper inside the breast tissue and couldn’t be felt with a standard manual exam.
Everything that’s happened next has been nothing short of a whirlwind—unexpected, relentless and at times surreal—testing every ounce of her strength, humor and determination.
“The day I found out was incredibly hard; I really did learn through MyChart, and the only people with me at the time were my husband and my mother-in-law, who was visiting from Tennessee,” Debbie said. “I went to Google, which is the absolute last thing you should ever do because it had me convinced I was going to die in less than five years.”
Even as she inspires others and documents her journey, Debbie is navigating the realities of being a cancer warrior—a situation she has described as a combination of whack-a-mole and a ticking time bomb.
In her case, “metastatic” means the cancer spread beyond her right breast to her spine and pelvic bones, her right armpit and too many lymph nodes to count.
Chemotherapy wiped out almost all of the initial cancer, but then a mass showed up on her thyroid—prompting a thyroidectomy.
Then came the Type-2 diabetes diagnosis, neuropathy, a common brain tumor called meningioma and intense fatigue.
“It’s a lot to handle, and I do have my bad days—even though some people can’t imagine that being possible given my personality,” she said. “My doctor told me to step away from work in July 2025, and I never went back. That was really hard. I couldn’t help but think, ‘What am I supposed to do now?’ I equated not working with dying and that I’d lose all my friends. On the bad days, I could barely move off the couch. Digestive issues, complete lack of energy, neuropathy that made standing for even five minutes difficult … I had it all. People see me as this constantly happy person, but I often wondered, ‘How long can I keep doing this?’ Every time I got past one thing and could breathe again, something else would come up.”
Still Fighting the Good Fight
One of Debbie’s favorite movie quotes is from Monty Python and the Holy Grail when a poor peasant says, “I’m not dead yet.” It sounds morbid, but it perfectly sums up her attitude as she continues her cancer journey. No matter how many setbacks come her way—treatment side effects, unexpected diagnoses or days when simply getting out of bed feels impossible—she refuses to be defined by her diagnosis. Instead, she approaches each day with stubborn determination, a sense of humor and a clear-eyed commitment to living life on her own terms. More importantly, she wants to share her journey so others can find a similar resolve.
“I’ve always been hard on myself, questioning if I’m good enough or not. Most people don’t know that because I’m good at putting on a good front,” she said. “But I’m doing the best I can. I want to shift my mentality away from ‘What if this doesn’t work?’ I want to shift away from thinking, ‘What if people don’t like me?’ Instead, I want to think, ‘What if this is successful?’ ‘What if they do like me?’ I want to turn life into why nots. It’s that positive mindset that makes all the difference—and it’s a conscious choice everyone can make.
“This isn’t a chosen journey, but if I’m going to be on it, I’d rather take control and make the most of my life and the lives of others.”
