TOMBALL, Texas \u2013 For Lori Newman, making it back to Houston this week wasn\u2019t just another trip it was a matter of life and death.<\/p>\n
The 55-year-old, who has metastatic terminal breast cancer, feared she wouldn\u2019t make it to her brain MRI and scans at MD Anderson Cancer Center because of nationwide travel disruptions caused by the ongoing government shutdown.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t drive a 14-hour, 12-hour drive. And it was scary,\u201d Newman said.<\/p>\n
Newman, who moved from Tomball to Tennessee earlier this year to spend her final days surrounded by family, relies on flights to return to Houston for her treatments. Her cancer, which spread to her spine, prevents her from sitting or standing for long periods.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not curable, it is terminal eventually,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd just missing one appointment and then having to reschedule, it could be a few weeks out, and that could change my world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last week, Newman told KPRC 2 News Rilwan Balogun she worried that the FAA\u2019s decision to reduce flights nationwide, including in Houston, would keep her from getting the care she needs. Seeing long lines at airports in both Houston and Nashville only added to her anxiety.<\/p>\n
But this week, she made it.<\/p>\n
Shutdown delays and FAA flight reductions threaten patient access to MD Anderson. (Copyright 2025 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.)Diagnosed in 2018 shortly after moving to Houston, Newman initially went into remission before the cancer returned and spread. (Copyright 2025 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.)<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything was easy, so somebody was looking out for me,\u201d Newman said after arriving in Houston. \u201cAnd I think a lot of it is for you, for you taking my story and making sure that other people know.\u201d<\/p>\n
Newman said her travel experience was unexpectedly smooth, and she documented her trip, showing a much quieter Nashville airport than she anticipated.<\/p>\n
While she admits she\u2019s still nervous about her upcoming scans, Newman says she\u2019s determined to keep fighting.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen it\u2019s time, it\u2019s my time, I guess you would say,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I\u2019m going to fight till the very, very end.\u201d<\/p>\n
Diagnosed in 2018, Newman initially went into remission before the cancer returned and spread to her spine. The disease has left her unable to stand for long and in constant pain, but she continues traveling hundreds of miles to stay under the care of her doctors at MD Anderson, whom she credits with giving her more time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m 55 years old, and I thought I had still a lot of time,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m doing everything I can to stay alive by getting to my appointments.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the uncertainty of travel and the toll her illness takes each day, Newman says she feels grateful and hopeful.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do feel very lucky,\u201d she said. \u201cThere are days I feel sorry for myself too, I won\u2019t lie. You saw me on my worst day, I think. It\u2019s OK. It really is. I don\u2019t want to die, though.\u201d<\/p>\n
And after making it to Houston safely, she says she feels renewed determination.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou guys brought me so much hope,\u201d Newman said. \u201cI felt like I was going to get there after I talked to you and I really did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Copyright 2025 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TOMBALL, Texas \u2013 For Lori Newman, making it back to Houston this week wasn\u2019t just another trip it…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":47285,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[21373,27353,2399,24162,56,58,57,24163,4024],"class_list":["post-47284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-airport-delays","tag-cancer-treatment-travel","tag-faa","tag-faa-flight-reductions","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news","tag-metastatic-breast-cancer","tag-tsa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47284"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47284\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}