Elaine C. Rang the Chime and Thought “Now I Can Heal. Now I Can Live.”

Speaker Elaine Carter
[chimes ringing] It was life. It was a new beginning for me.

Speaker Rich Jones
Elaine Carter's cancer journey began in 2021 as she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Surgery was first followed by chemo and then radiation at the UF Health Proton Therapy Institute.

Speaker Elaine Carter
The surgeon said, we're going to take you to the proton therapy because my breast cancer was on the left side and your heart is on my heart. You know, your heart is on the left side. She explained proton therapy will go exactly to the tumor. It would not affect the heart.

Speaker Rich Jones
Elaine works at UF, but tells me she didn't realize the extent of the good they're doing until she went through it herself.

Speaker Elaine Carter
Even though I was like, oh, this is easy. This is nothing like chemo. Radiation was tough. It was tough. And Dr. Bradley told me, she's like, at first you're going to jump off of that table. And you're like, this is nothing. But it takes your energy.

Speaker Rich Jones
And after 33 sessions, [chimes ringing] she rang Aud’s Chime in the huge lobby, signaling the end of her journey.

Speaker Elaine Carter
I could breathe finally. I could take a breath. I knew that I was strong and that I beat this. When I rang those chimes, I knew that I'm done with chemo. I'm done with radiation. Now I can heal. Now I can live.

Speaker Rich Jones
Elaine says she's thankful to everyone at the institute, calling them members of her family. And she's now become an ambassador, helping other people going through treatment, saying it's the next step of healing for her. Rich Jones, 104.5 WOKV.