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A Life Built on Family and Faith
Jerome Reed grew up in Chicago, spent about 20 years in Cincinnati and settled in Oklahoma City in 2012. He and his wife, Lisa, are about to celebrate 36 years of marriage and have raised three children: Brandon, Jordan and Lauren.
Faith is at the center of that life. Jerome serves as a deacon at his church and directs its men’s ministry, and he and Lisa pray together often. That foundation would carry him through one of the most difficult seasons of his life.A Number That Kept Climbing
After an insurance change sent Jerome to a new doctor, she noticed his PSA was starting to creep upward. She monitored it for six months, and when it kept rising, she referred him to a urologist. A biopsy confirmed prostate cancer. “It’s something that nobody ever wants to hear,” Jerome said. “It took me a while to process it.”Pausing to Pray and Research
The urologist wanted to schedule surgery right away. Jerome asked for time. “I told him, let me just kind of back up a little bit and figure out what’s going on here and pray about it,” he said. He and Lisa researched treatment options and met with three or four providers, each with a different approach. The father of one of his son’s college football teammates, a urologist, sent articles and encouraged him to do his homework. As they worked through the options, one kept coming up: proton therapy.Finding Clarity at Oklahoma Proton Center
Jerome scheduled a consultation with Dr. Gaston at Oklahoma Proton Center. “He really made us feel very comfortable,” Jerome said. “He walked us through what the procedure was going to be like from A to Z and explained everything thoroughly to us in a language that we could completely understand.” Proton therapy is an advanced form of radiation treatment that delivers radiation directly to a tumor while minimizing exposure to surrounding healthy tissue. After the consultation, Jerome and Lisa prayed again, and their decision was clear. Through treatment, the couple leaned on their faith. Lisa posted scriptures throughout the house, and each morning they read them together, including Isaiah 53:5, “by his stripes we are healed.” “It’s a very scary time,” Jerome said. “But when you know that God is with you, then you can face anything.”Twenty-Nine Mornings
Jerome completed 29 treatments, Monday through Friday, always asking to be one of the first patients on the schedule. “The staff was awesome,” he said. “Everybody got familiar with me. They allowed me to bring my playlist in and put it on while I was going through treatments.” For Jerome, each session lasted about five to 15 minutes. While experiences vary from patient to patient, he was encouraged to stay as active as he felt able, which mattered to someone who works out several days a week and plays golf and pickleball. “They said, if that’s your lifestyle, you don’t have to stop that,” Jerome recalled. “You’re going to get through this and you’re going to be just fine.” Around the middle of 2025, Jerome was told he was in full remission. His latest lab work came back just a couple of weeks ago, and everything looks good. “I’m doing great,” he said. “I’m playing pickleball four times a week, playing golf, weather permitting.”A Promise Kept
During treatment, Jerome promised in prayer that if he was healed, he would serve even more and make sure others knew they had options. When Jeff Murray invited him to support the Oklahoma Proton Foundation’s annual golf fundraiser, he saw a way to keep that promise. He has supported it every year since. His motivation is personal. Jerome had good insurance through his employer, but seeing the full bill stopped him. “I would have had to sell the house,” he said. “A lot of people are not as fortunate as I am. And so I wanted to be able to be a blessing to them.” His advice to others facing a diagnosis starts with faith and ends with trust. “You can get through this, but it starts with your faith,” he said. “And then trust the process. There’s just no reason for anybody not to take advantage of the resources and the science that’s available to them.”
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