Navy Veteran Matthew Roach rang the celebration bell at VA Amarillo’s Lubbock VA Clinic on July 8, signifying his official triumph over terminal stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer one year after being diagnosed.
Roach was the first Veteran to ring the newly installed bell, which he donated to the facility months earlier in hopes of inspiring other Veterans facing similar battles.
“Ringing the bell is a symbol of survival,” said Roach. “It’s a statement that says, ‘you made it through’. I hope this bell will give other Veterans something to look forward to—a real sense of achievement.”
The journey
His journey began in 2019 with a diagnosis of prostate cancer. After undergoing robotic surgery and 38 consecutive days of radiation, he was declared cancer-free in 2020. But in July 2024 he received a devastating diagnosis: the cancer had returned and spread to his colon, lymph nodes, tailbone and shoulder blade.
“I thought this is it, I was going to die,” said Roach. “I started preparing for it—writing a will, getting my affairs in order. It felt like the worst kind of déjà vu.”
Despite his prognosis, Roach’s care team at the Lubbock VA Clinic quickly mobilized a treatment plan that included aggressive chemotherapy and hormone therapy. Roach also took it upon himself to dive into holistic health. Within months, his level of prostate-specific antigen, a protein produced by the prostate gland, dropped from nearly 6.0 to an undetectable 0.008.
“There were good days and there were a lot of really bad days,” said Roach. “But throughout the journey, my care team made me feel like I wasn’t just a patient with cancer. They became more like friends than providers to me.”
“Not every story like this turns into a good one, which is why Matt’s story means so much,” said Leslie Vaughn, chemotherapy infusion registered nurse. “It’s rare to see this kind of turnaround with stage 4 metastatic cancer. He’s a fighter, and his spirit is contagious.”
The celebration bell hangs in the Lubbock VA Clinic’s chemotherapy treatment waiting room, where it will continue to mark milestones of courage, resilience and healing for other Veterans for years to come.
“It’s not just a piece of metal,” said Roach. “It’s a message—that hope is alive here.”
