Shirts being sold to benefit Moses Lake woman battling cancer

Richard Byrd | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 9 years, 1 month AGO

Tasheena Cawston, left, and Antonia Fork, right, model the shirts that are being sold to help raise funds to cover the medical costs for Pop’s In And Out owner Mary Laughlin, who is battling cancer.

MOSES LAKE — If you have ventured down West Valley Road in Moses Lake recently you more than likely have noticed the sign. You know, that reader board with the black lettering reading “Support Mary’s Treatment” and “Fight Like A Girl” underneath the giant arrow directing passersby to pull into Pop’s In And Out for a bite to eat. What the casual observer of the sign doesn’t know is that the aforementioned Mary has valiantly been fighting a battle against cancer for a number of years now.

Mary Laughlin, who is the owner of Pop’s In And Out, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012 and has been rolling with the punches of treatment since her diagnosis. The cancer has since spread and Laughlin is now currently dealing with two problem spots in her right lung. Laughlin’s long-time friend Connie Mcdowell said Laughlin is allergic to chemotherapy and gets sick after going through the treatment.

With Laughlin recently starting a second go-round with chemotherapy, her friends and family members have been selling shirts to raise funds and help with her medical costs. The shirts, which are being sold for $25 each, have the words “Fight Like a Girl” adorned on the back in pink coloring next to a pair of pink boxing gloves.

“Mary is an absolutely wonderful person and doesn’t say no to anybody. She is just good right down to her soul,” Mcdowell remarked. “She does anything and everything she possibly can for anybody and everybody. She never stops, but now this chemo has her stopped.”

The shirts are the most recent endeavor to help Laughlin pay for her treatments. In March of 2015 a dinner, dance and auction was held in Moses Lake, with all of the funds raised going directly to Laughlin, according to a previous Columbia Basin Herald report. In addition, an account has been set up at Umpqua Bank, 101 E. Fourth Ave. in Moses Lake, for people who want to help cover the business owner’s medical costs.

“We have been doing the best we can to take care of things for Mary and take care of her,” Mcdowell said. “But this chemo stuff just makes her sicker than you can even imagine, because she is so allergic to it.”

To purchase a shirt visit Pop’s In And Out or call Connie Mcdowell at 509-760-7387.