Community Rallies Around Tega Cay Officer Diagnosed With Cancer

Drew Bollea,

CHARLOTTE, NC – The Tega Cay community is coming together to support a police officer sidelined with cancer.

Sgt. Laruen Galloway, 36, has nearly a decade of service with the department and now the community is showing it’s support.

“She is the friend that you want to have,” said Cpl. Steven Timbs with the Tega Cay Police Department.

“There was just something special about her from the get go,” said Ofc. Matthew Connolly.

Timbs and Connoly work closely with Sgt. Galloway and say she has improved their lives and the lives of those around them.

“There was just something that just clicked and we have become best friends ever since then. From the time we walked in and said hello and wished each other good luck on the test,” explained Ofc. Connolly.

Sgt. Galloway helped establish the new dispatch center for Tega Cay PD, she is active in the community helping while on and off the clock. Friends say she’s a motivator, and is able to connect with everyone she meets.

“It was sudden. She was not feeling too well so she actually ended up going on light duty. Then she went to the hospital and it was quick,” said Cpl. Timbs.

Just before Christmas, devastating news. Sgt. Galloway was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She’s already undergone one surgery. Her attitude, inspiring.

“There will not be a single negative thought that enters her mind. She will not allow it,” said Cpl. Timbs.

“It was like a reality check. Because you don’t think somebody of Lauren’s age, you know, something like that is going to hit that hard,” said Allison Fowler, a close friend of Galloway.

She says some of Galloway’s first thoughts were about thanking others for their support; putting the community ahead of herself.

“It means so much to see the impact that she truly has,” said Fowler.

A GofundMe has raised more than 16 thousand dollars.

Fowler says any money that is left over from the account that isn’t used to cover medical costs will be donated to others in a similar situation or possibly a cancer research center.