From Stage 4 Prostate Cancer to Marathon Finish Line: Mario’s Journey of Faith and Perseverance

In September 2020, Mario Fher Perez, now 70, was living the active life he had maintained for decades. A lifelong runner and marathon enthusiast, he had built his identity around movement, discipline and health. Then, almost overnight, everything changed.

“It started suddenly, and within days I couldn't walk at all,” recalls Mr. Perez.

The severe pain began in his back and left leg. What initially seemed like a physical setback quickly became something much more serious. As the pain intensified and his mobility disappeared, his son, Jonathan, rushed him to Baptist Health’s emergency department.

“My son brought me to Baptist emergency room because I couldn't walk anymore,” says Mr. Perez. “From there, they transferred me directly to Baptist Health Herbert Wertheim Cancer Institute. It was an emergency. The tumor was compressing my nerve.”

A Life-Changing Diagnosis

Diagnostic imaging revealed extensive cancer involving his spine and pelvis. Soon afterward, he received a diagnosis that would alter the course of his life: stage 4 metastatic prostate cancer. “The cancer had spread to my spine and hip,” he says.

He came under the care of Antonio Muiña, M.D., an oncologist/hematologist at Baptist Health Herbert Wertheim Cancer Institute.

“When a patient with known or suspected metastatic prostate cancer suddenly cannot move his legs, the immediate concern is whether the cancer is affecting the spinal cord or surrounding nerves,” says Dr. Muiña. “That is a true oncologic emergency because neurologic symptoms can progress quickly, and a patient's ability to walk before treatment is one of the strongest predictors of recovery.”

Emergency imaging ruled out direct compression of the spinal cord itself. Instead, Mr. Perez had extensive metastatic disease involving the left side of his pelvis and areas of the lumbar spine, along with a pelvic soft-tissue mass. The disease, associated pain and likely involvement of nearby nerves were responsible for his severe mobility problems.

For someone who had spent much of his life running, the diagnosis was particularly difficult. Before cancer, Mr. Perez describes his health as exceptional.

“Excellent. I ran marathons. I trained every single day,” he says. “Athletics was my life since I was 20 years old in Venezuela. Exercise wasn't just a hobby, it was my lifestyle.”

Born in Los Teques, Venezuela, Mr. Perez moved to South Florida in 2005. Today, he lives in Miami with his wife and remains deeply devoted to his children and grandchildren. “My children and my grandkids, that's everything to me,” he says.

Immediate Treatment and a Plan Forward

Because sudden loss of mobility can signal a cancer emergency, Mr. Perez’s medical team moved quickly to determine what was causing his symptoms and begin treatment.

“The distinction between spinal cord compression and other causes of neurologic symptoms can only be made after the appropriate emergency evaluation,” Dr. Muiña says. “In Mario's case, treating the situation urgently until we knew exactly what was happening was critical.”

“From the first moment, I felt heard, respected and cared for,” says Mr. Perez. “They didn't just see a patient. They saw a person.”

Treatment began immediately. Mr. Perez underwent 10 rounds of radiation therapy targeting the metastatic disease in his lower spine, hip and pelvis.

“Ten rounds of radiation, immediately, because the nerve compression was critical,” he says.

Radiation was intended both to control the cancer in the affected areas and to relieve symptoms that were interfering with his ability to move.

“Radiation therapy can be very important for patients with symptomatic bone metastases because it can reduce pain, shrink tumor and help preserve or restore mobility,” Dr. Muiña says. “In Mario's case, the improvement in his pain and numbness and his progression from assisted walking to independent walking were exactly the kind of functional recovery we hoped to achieve.”

After two months of treatment, he was discharged with a long-term care plan that included ongoing hormonal therapy and Eligard injections every three months.

His treatment combined radiation directed at the areas causing his most serious symptoms with systemic therapy designed to control cancer throughout his body. Hormonal therapy, also known as androgen-deprivation therapy, reduces the testosterone that prostate cancer commonly uses to grow. His regimen also included additional medication to more extensively block the cancer’s ability to use male hormones.

“With metastatic prostate cancer, we are treating both the areas creating immediate problems and the disease throughout the body,” says Dr. Muiña. “Modern combination hormonal therapy has significantly changed what we can achieve for many patients, allowing some to maintain disease control for years.”

“They explained everything clearly,” Mr. Perez recalls. “I trusted them completely.”

“The distinction between spinal cord compression and other causes of neurologic symptoms can only be made after the appropriate emergency evaluation. In Mario's case, treating the situation urgently until we knew exactly what was happening was critical.”

Antonio Muiña, M.D., an oncologist/hematologist at Baptist Health Herbert Wertheim Cancer Institute.

Antonio Muiña, M.D. Baptist Health Herbert Wertheim Cancer Institute

Learning to Walk Again

The road ahead was not easy. For months, Mr. Perez focused on treatment, recovery and regaining strength. Progress came gradually. The man who once ran marathons first had to relearn how to walk.

Then, after about a year, something remarkable happened.

“After one year, I went from not walking to walking on my own,” he says. “Then I started physical therapy and exercise again.”

Step by step, his mobility returned. Physical therapy helped rebuild strength. Exercise helped restore confidence. Determined not to let cancer define him, Mr. Perez continued pushing forward.

Eventually, he achieved a goal that once seemed impossible.

“Now I run marathons,” he says.

His recovery is particularly noteworthy, Dr. Muiña says. Regaining the ability to walk after presenting with such severe mobility impairment is possible but not guaranteed. Mr. Perez benefited from the fact that his symptoms resulted from treatable metastatic disease rather than permanent spinal cord injury. He also experienced a strong and sustained response to cancer treatment.

Back on the Marathon Course

Returning to the sport he loves carried a significance far beyond athletic achievement. His first race back became a celebration of survival, resilience and gratitude.

“I run to honor those still fighting,” says Mr. Perez. “My children ran with me in my first race back. That was the greatest victory of my life.”

Family members gathered at the finish line. Friends celebrated the accomplishment alongside him. Many were overcome with emotion watching someone who had once lost the ability to walk complete a marathon.

His friends even gave him a nickname that reflects his extraordinary journey.

“They call me ‘El Gato,’ The Cat,” he says. “They say I have seven lives.”

For Dr. Muiña, seeing that transformation carried its own significance.

“Seeing a patient who arrived unable to move his legs go on to finish a foot race is the kind of moment that captures why intervening urgently and treating aggressively matters,” he says. “It is the human proof of what the survival curves and response data represent.”

More Than Cancer Care

Today, Mr. Perez continues regular follow-up visits and remains grateful for every milestone. “I'm monitored closely, but I'm grateful for every single visit,” he says.

His long-term response has also been encouraging. His prostate-specific antigen, or PSA — a blood marker used to monitor prostate cancer — fell dramatically after treatment and has remained largely suppressed for years. Follow-up imaging also showed near-complete resolution of the original cancer involving his lymph nodes.

“Mario's trajectory is unusual because it combines a deep, durable response to treatment with an extraordinary functional recovery,” Dr. Muiña says. “He didn't simply regain the ability to walk. He returned to competitive recreational running after presenting with extensive metastatic disease and profound loss of mobility.”

Mr. Perez credits his care team not only for treating his cancer but also for helping him maintain hope throughout the process. “They treat cancer, yes, but they also treat your soul,” he says. “They give you hope. They become your family.”

For Mr. Perez, survival is measured not only in years gained, but in moments shared with loved ones.

“I am alive today because of them,” he says. “I get to watch my grandchildren grow because of them.”

A Message of Hope

Mr. Perez remains focused on the future and committed to encouraging others facing difficult diagnoses. Without hesitation, he recommends Baptist Health Herbert Wertheim Cancer Institute to anyone confronting cancer.

“To anyone facing a cancer diagnosis: go there,” he says. “Not just for the medicine, for the humanity. They will fight with you, not just for you.”

Dr. Muiña says Mr. Perez’s experience demonstrates how advances in metastatic prostate cancer treatment, combined with timely radiation and rehabilitation, can sometimes restore function and provide years of disease control. Outcomes vary considerably from patient to patient, and Mr. Perez’s response has been especially favorable.

“A diagnosis of metastatic prostate cancer, even when it presents dramatically with loss of mobility, does not automatically mean permanent disability,” Dr. Muiña says. “Early recognition of neurologic symptoms, multidisciplinary care and modern combination therapy can restore function and quality of life, sometimes for many years.”

As he reflects on the journey from being unable to walk to crossing finish lines again, Mr. Perez’s message is deeply personal.

“Don't lose faith. God always hears our prayers,” says Mr. Perez. “And move your body. When we move, our health regenerates. I am proof.”