Jacksonville, Fl — Our weekly chime story celebrates 20 years of saving lives at the UF Health Proton Therapy Institute.
Vania Quiroz is a senior at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts. Her life changed in October 2024 when she had a seizure, followed by the discovery of a tumor. It was about the size of a ping-pong ball.
Tests confirmed it was astroblastoma, a rare, malignant pediatric tumor. Her doctors wanted to use proton radiation therapy to target the small areas of her brain.
Vania started treatment in December 2024. She visited the UF Health Proton Therapy Institute for 31 days of treatment.
Her grades tanked because she was so tired, and she missed nearly two full months of class.
But she was able to catch up and is on track to graduate this month. Vania says she wants to study radiology at FSCJ.
Ahead of her last treatment, Vania says she was feeling sad because of the bond she’d developed.
“I actually baked cupcakes and I planned for like three days prior my chime ceremony because I saw that everyone was always so sad when they rang they chime. I wanted to give it a more positive connotation for me.”, said Quiroz.
She will forever associate proton therapy with life, rather than a painful experience.
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