The signs they’ve been looking for
Luis Lopez, middle, holds up his letter of intent after putting pen to paper to confirm he will attend Luther College as a member of the wrestling team next season. Lopez was joined by his mother, Angelica Goff, and stepdad, Casey Goff, for the big day. Staff photo by Johnnie Phillips
Medford wrestler Luis Lopez signed his letter of intent to continue his athletic career at Luther College last week and joining him at the ceremonial signing table was a very special attendee: his mother, Angelica Goff.
Lopez, who has long been a standout wrestler and track and field athlete for the Tigers, has not only been shining at his respective sports, but also helping support Goff through her ongoing battle with stomach cancer.
“It was amazing. Yesterday, when I got back home from wrestling, we went to a birthday party, and we got pretty emotional. Sometimes I get that way because she was the only one who was there for me when I was born. I didn’t grow up with my dad. It was just her and I until I was five when my stepdad came into my life,” said Lopez.
The special signing-day moment between mother and son was made possible thanks to another positive sign that the family has been waiting on since Goff was diagnosed with cancer in October 2022.
While taking a bucket-list trip to New York ahead of Christmas, Goff received an envelope containing news on her treatment status.
Not wanting to open the letter during her trip, Goff waited until Christmas Eve to see the contents of the message.
“My parents opened the letter Christmas Eve while they had some friends over. I was at a movie at the time and my dad sent me a picture of the letter. It said, ‘It looks like you’re having a good response to treatment. The pelvic masses are decreasing in size and the fluid around the lungs has resolved. We will continue the current treatment and monitor.’ As soon as I read that, it felt like it wasn’t real. When we first got the diagnosis, the doctors thought it was uncurable and thought maybe we had a year. Now, we’re past a year, and the chemotherapy is working. It’s just a great feeling. So when we heard the news, it was pretty emotional at my house,” said Lopez.
With the chemotherapy showing positive signs, Goff will now be able to remain in Medford with her family while continuing treatment.
More time at home means Goff will now be able to get back to one of her favorite hobbies: watching her son compete for the Medford Tigers.
“I couldn’t ask for anything better. This year we’ve definitely had our struggles, but just being able to see him take on everything he’s doing… It just makes me so proud,” Goff said of Lopez’s triumphs over the past year.
With his name etched in the school record books for track and field and having become a regular state competitor as part of the Medford Tigers wrestling team, Lopez has earned everything that’s come his way.
Part of that winning formula is a fighter’s mindset, one that he shares with his mom.
“Ever since it happened, she told me right away, ‘This isn’t going to stop us. We’re going to keep fighting.’ That’s what my family is about: we’re fighters. Nothing is going to tear us down until we physically can’t move anymore,” said Lopez.