How 63-year-old Guam radio host and former smoker finds out cancer risk with simple blood draw | The Medical City

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How 63-year-old Guam radio host and former smoker finds out cancer risk with simple blood draw

By The Medical City (TMC), Ortigas | September 19, 2025

How 63-year-old Guam radio host and former smoker finds out cancer risk with simple blood draw

Ray Gibson, a 63-year-old radio host in Guam, gets his noninvasive SPOT-MAS blood draw test done in The Medical City’s Wellness and Aesthetics Institute.

As a 63-year-old man, Ray Gibson has done a lot of things in his life—hosting a radio show, running marathons, and raising a family. However, what the Guam resident achieved in his life also came with many challenges.

“Before COVID, I weighed 160 pounds…. And then COVID came along, and then no more races or opportunities to get out and achieve your athletic goals. And so I let myself slide… I was told by the doctors that I was prediabetic, I had fatty liver, I needed to take metformin, [and] I needed to lose 30 kilos,” he said.


Guam radio host Ray Gibson is getting his vitals checked as part of his executive checkup in The Medical City Ortigas


Since then, Ray worked to get healthy again and get a “thumbs up” from his doctors. His dilemma with prediabetes made him rethink the importance of wellness in his life, especially as he hopes to grow old enough to teach his grandkids how to drive a car.

“It got me thinking about abnormalities that can afflict me as a 63-year-old man. I’m sad to say I have instances of cancer in my life. My father died just a few years ago—diagnosed with small cell carcinoma (A type of lung cancer)—and he was dead three weeks after that. So I know how quickly the onset and then the tragedy can occur.”

Ray also has a history of being a 60-pack-year smoker before he became physically active.

The radio host’s risks made him interested in taking SPOT-MAS, a noninvasive procedure that screens the blood for possible tumor DNA to detect early signs of 10 cancers, in the Philippines at The Medical City, after hearing about the screening test from executives of Guam Regional Medical City.


The Medical City partners with biotech company Gene Solutions for the noninvasive screening test SPOT-MAS to detect early signs of 10 cancers


“I [also] had a family member, an in-law, and she unfortunately passed away from pancreatic cancer. And as you know pancreatic cancer is impossible to detect in its initial stages… And so I’m told that SPOT-MAS can even go and see some of the early predictors of things like pancreatic cancer. And if you can get in there early enough, all of a sudden, that’s a major lifesaver,” he said.

Getting the blood draw


Guam radio host Ray Gibson gets his blood drawn for his SPOT-MAS screening test


Ray got his blood drawn for SPOT-MAS back in June 2025 along with his yearly executive checkup in The Medical City’s Wellness and Aesthetics Institute (WAI). He got the results around a month later after the blood was processed for signs of tumor DNA.  

“The good news there is [that] everything came out negative or normal, but this should not replace the conventional screening or recommendations given particular risk factors or risk,” says Dr. Christian Flores, director of WAI.

Dr. Flores adds that even if Ray’s test result shows that he has no DNA markers indicating early signs of cancer, he recommends lifestyle measures to prevent further risks of cancer, such as not going back to smoking and watching his diet and exercise.

He adds that Ray can also get another round of SPOT-MAS the following year to know how his risk for cancer has changed over time.

“Especially with cancer, it’s always nice to detect as early as you possibly can. And for this case, for the cancers that we tested for, I don’t have anything to worry about. So obviously there’s great weight off my shoulders that’s been lifted, especially as a 60-pack-year smoker,” Ray says after getting his results and consulting with the doctor.

Since he took the test and received his results, Ray has recommended SPOT-MAS to his radio listeners for his show, “The Ray Gibson Show. " He shared that one of them called to ask about the screening test and where to get it.

“One of those things that I’m learning as I age is you won’t find something unless you look for it. So you’ve got to be able to take advantage of the tools [and] technology that’s out there to spot things even if you don’t have symptoms,” Ray says.

“This is probably going to be part of my annual check-up now. I’ve got a baseline and so far everything is negative. But the next time I go to The Medical City with my executive checkup, definitely going to ask for a SPOT-MAS test,” he adds.

For more information about SPOT-MAS, fill out this form and our team will reach out to you.



You may also contact The Medical City’s Wellness and Aesthetics Institute at the 6th floor of The Medical City Ortigas, through (632) 8988-1000 or 898-7000, local 6576 / 6386 / 6579, or by emailing tmc_wcl@themedicalcity.com.


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