CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Don't write off compliance officer Joseph Gomez if you see him out patrolling any of the 187 parks in Corpus Christi. There's more to this 56-year-old father of six than meets the eye.
A long career in the Army as 5th generation solider led him to travel the world. He picked up new languages such as German and French and along the way became comfortable enough in front of a camera to talk about his biggest battle with us: breast cancer.
"Coming now today to talk with you about it, I wasn't aware that it's more common than we think for men," said Gomez of his breast cancer diagnosis 13-years ago this October.
He was preparing for his fifth deployment to the Middle East when something was not right.
"I was showering and I noticed a bump. So I didn't think anything of it because I thought it was irritated by the plates and the I.B.A. I was wearing," Gomez said. "Well, the next day it continued. It was pretty constant and sharper at this point."
He immediately went to the troop medical clinic where they performed a biopsy where they cut out the pea-sized irritant. This left Gomez with a two-inch scar under his right pectoral. Doctors were able to confirm it was cancer.
"First of all, I was stunned, shocked and of course, the first thing that came to mind was 'why me?'" Gomez said.
He was able to get treated when in Kuwait and Iraq.
"So, when we come back to Kuwait and Kuwait City, I would get treated as well."
About 1 in 833 men are diagnosed with this disease compared to one in eight for women.
This veteran did have a family of history of breast cancer. His mother and grandmother were diagnosed.
The fact he caught it early prevented it from spreading. The news was enough to get the men in his family to call their doctors.
"It helped a couple of my cousins. They went to go get checked within a week cause it scared them. I'm not going to lie. It is scary. But also, put that fear in them...helped them to go get checked."
Today, he advocates for breast cancer education and a cure while reflecting on what matters most.
"The freedoms we have. The rights that we have, our family. And, of course, God first. But it's all the same thing you know. We want to do the right thing for the right reasons."
3NEWS is helping local group First Friday, who provides free mammograms to women and men with limited to no insurance. You can find the group here.
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