Mario G. Says Choosing Proton Therapy to Treat His Prostate Cancer Was About Quality of Life

Speaker Rich Jones:
Every Friday, we deliver chime stories, good news in Jacksonville, that mark the UF Health Proton Therapy Institute’s 20th anniversary. 104.5 WOKV Community Spotlight. Since January, we’ve been documenting the journey of people, young and old, who chose proton therapy to treat their cancer. The range of emotions they felt as they rang Aud’s Chime to celebrate the end of treatment. That caught the attention of Mario Gomez, who lives in Palm Coast.

Speaker Mario Gomez:
I go to the WOKV site quite a bit, and the stories of people that have been there, done that was very inspiring to me, and I wanted to go ahead and just continue to get that word out.

Speaker Rich Jones:
So he reached out to share his own experience. Mario was diagnosed last August with prostate cancer.

Speaker Mario Gomez:
So obviously that kind of comes to a shock to the system to start with. I barely knew what a prostate was, much less how to treat it.

Speaker Rich Jones:
Says he did a ton of research, including removing the prostate.

Speaker Mario Gomez:
And my girlfriend actually found one at the University of Florida Proton Institute. And what I really loved about it is, I’m retired. I was fortunate enough to retire at an earlier age and the last thing I wanted was something to prohibit my quality of life.

Speaker Rich Jones:
So he landed at the UF Health Proton Therapy Institute because he says the technology is all about precision.

Speaker Mario Gomez:
Now that I’ve finished my treatments in the beginning of April, I’m... I’m back to working out at the gym, I’m back on the golf course, I walk every day, I’m doing the exercises, I'm getting my strength back.

Speaker Rich Jones:
And he celebrated the end of treatment by ringing Aud’s Chime in the sunlit atrium.

Speaker Mario Gomez:
An overwhelming sense of relief and accomplishment, and to me, a very major milestone because it was so important to me.

Speaker Rich Jones:
What did it sound like?

Speaker Mario Gomez:
Almost like chimes from heaven. it’s a it’s a very high ceiling so that the the chimes echo and you ring I’ve been trying not to ring them too hard but you know the rings it was almost like an angelic tone to it.

Speaker Rich Jones:
Mario says he’s thankful his research paid off and for the quality of care from every single person at the Institute.

Speaker Mario Gomez:
The advantage of doing what I did was when you’re done, your quality of life remains. You know, it’s just a bump in the road.

Speaker Rich Jones:
Rich Jones, 104.5 WOKV.