Texas Border Business
By Roberto Hugo González
EDINBURG, Texas – On Sunday, March 23, 2025, around 3:00 p.m., Mayor Ramiro Garza of Edinburg took to his TikTok account to share an emotional video update with his constituents regarding his prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment plan. The message came nearly two months after he first revealed his diagnosis to the public on January 29, 2025, and served as both a personal update and a public call to action for health awareness.
“Hi, everybody. I just wanted to come on and give everyone an update on everything that’s been happening with my prostate cancer diagnosis,” Mayor Garza began. “It’s been a while, and I just been getting a lot of calls and inquiries, and I just thought I’d come on and let y’all know the latest and what’s happening.”
The mayor expressed deep appreciation for the outpouring of love and support he has received since making his diagnosis public. “Let me just say that I want to thank all of you. Every one of you has reached out, offered help, and lifted us in prayer. Believe me, I have felt it. My family and I are very grateful, and I really, really appreciate all the love and support.”
Mayor Garza reassured the public that he is currently feeling well. “In case you’re wondering how I’m feeling or what I’m going through, really what I’ve been doing is just talking to my medical team and finding the best treatment option.”
After completing the necessary medical evaluations and discussions, the mayor announced that he had chosen to undergo a prostatectomy. “I just wanna let everybody know that I’ve decided to have a prostatectomy. And what that is, I know it’s a little hard to pronounce. It’s prostatectomy… It’s a surgery that I’m gonna be having to remove the prostate from me. It’s a procedure that will obviously remove all the cancer that I have in my prostate.”
The surgery is scheduled for Wednesday, March 26, 2025. “I know God is in control,” he said, asking the public for continued prayers for himself and his family. “We’re a little bit scared to go through this, but I know that’s what we need to go through, you know, to remove the cancer from my body.”
Mayor Garza expects a recovery period of six to eight weeks. “I’ve been following all the doctor’s orders to prepare for it. I’m ready to do it. I’m ready to, you know, beat this cancer once and for all.”
He used his platform to promote awareness and early detection, especially among men. “I also want to take the opportunity just to remind all the men out there, please get checked. It’s a simple blood test that is done to check your PSA level and check to see if it’s elevated. Then it’s something to look into.”
He also appealed to women, encouraging them to urge their loved ones to be proactive about their health. “To all you women out there that love your men, please encourage ‘em to get checked. The earlier you detect it, the better, which is the case with me.”
The mayor’s initial announcement on January 29, 2025, revealed that the cancer was discovered through routine screening and caught early. Alongside this personal revelation, Mayor Garza announced that he would not seek re-election at the end of his current term, citing his need to focus on his health and family. He reassured the community that he would continue to serve as mayor until his term concluded, ensuring a smooth and stable transition in leadership for Edinburg.
He reiterated in his latest message that his goal is not to bring attention to himself but to the importance of awareness. “This is just not about me. It’s not about bringing attention to me. It’s just bringing attention to the situation. This is something very prevalent throughout our community, throughout our country—prostate cancer.”
He expressed heartfelt thanks to everyone who has offered encouragement. “I want to thank everybody, everybody at the city, everybody just throughout the community all over. I just can’t even believe the amount of support that I’ve received. And I’m so very grateful.”
To those he hasn’t been able to acknowledge personally, he said, “If for some reason I wasn’t able to, you know, get with you and just thank you, please accept my sincere gratitude for reaching out to me and just letting me know y’all are there. It’s really lifted me up, making me as strong as I need to be to beat this.”
Mayor Garza concluded his message with optimism and faith. “That’s all I have for now. I’m gonna try to, you know, keep everybody updated as I go through this journey. I know I’m gonna beat this. And with God being in control, I know that’s gonna happen. And with all y’all’s prayers, I know that we’re gonna beat this. So thank you so much for your continued prayers and love y’all.”
