Oro Valley firefighter battling stage 4 cancer is now in remission

A Golder Ranch Fire District Engineer was diagnosed with Stage Four Prostate cancer about 14 months ago, but he recently got the good news that he is now in remission and has returned back to doing the job he loves.

Gary Schobel is a husband, dad, and grandfather and he largely credits his strong support system for helping him through the battle with cancer. He says that if your ‘why’ is strong enough, you can accomplish anything.

“My family, my friends, they were a strong enough why to be here,” Gary Schobel said.

He spent each day looking for the positive. “You got up in the morning, you had try to find something positive that you were looking for," Gary Schobel said.

His now two-year-old grandson has been a light in life, even on the hardest days.

“He was just barely walking, but he made his way over to the bed and called out, ‘Papa,’” Gary Schobel said. “Like I said I want to live for him, I want to live for others, I want to live for my wife, our marriage, our kids.”

Through radiation, chemotherapy and surgery his wife of 33 years has been his rock through all of this.

“I would say 90 percent of this is mental and he has had a very positive attitude and he has stayed really inspiring not only to others, but to me, too,” Christine Schobel, Gary’s wife, said.

His inspiration has also spread into the Golder Ranch Fire District.

“He thinks I supported him, but in reality he supported me a lot more than he knows,” his coworker, Gabe Bravo said.

Recently, Gary Schobel got the news he had been waiting to hear — he is in remission.

His wife explained hearing the news was almost too good to be true. “To hear he’s in remission, we heard all the angels singing,” Christine Schobel said.

Bravo said Gary Schobel is the textbook definition of a champion. “He never let the cancer run him, he ran the cancer and he ran it out,” Bravo said.

Now that he’s in remission, he’s back to doing the job he loves.

“Seeing him back on the job and being able to be a firefighter again has been the greatest joy,” Christine Schobel said.

Despite everything he has been through, he says he wouldn’t change what has happened over the last 14 months.

“It’s a new purpose, it’s a new perspective on life,” Gary Schobel said.

He encourages everyone to get their yearly check-ups and to be their own advocate. He said, “Early detection, early treatment will make a world of difference in the outcome.”

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Madison Thomas joined KGUN 9 in July of 2023 as a multimedia journalist . She graduated from Arizona State University in May of 2023 with a degree in journalism and mass communication. She has lived in Arizona her entire life and grew up in Douglas. Madison is thrilled to share the stories from the community she grew up in. Share your story ideas and important issues with Madison by emailing madison.thomas@kgun9.com or by connecting on Instagram , Twitter or Facebook .