I am not sure if having cancer automatically opens you up to recognizing others with cancer, like when you buy a new car and all of a sudden you see the same model everywhere, but we continue to grieve each time we learn of a new cancer patient, which seems to happen frequently.
What advice would we give to someone newly diagnosed with cancer?
This is a tough question to answer. We’ve accumulated a wealth of information concerning diet, supplements, rest, exercise, doctors, medicines, and various treatment options. My mind quickly sifts through all the different possibilities and settles firmly on….hope.
I am confident that above all the possible advice I could offer, hope is most important. Sure, I could share all the various things that helped me, but without hope they are useless. Those who know we well, know that I have a passion for maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and I am typically eager (some would say too eager) to share this passion. I’ve learned a lot this past year, and I know more about cancer than I ever wanted to know. I would actually like to forget most of it. With chemo brain, this could be possible!
But hope, hope is more life giving than any wellness tip I could share with you.
Most of you know how desperately I have grappled to gain control of and fix my situation. I’ve followed a strict diet and sought the advice of well-respected medical and health professionals. Only to learn that there was more that I could or should be doing. The amount of “health” advice available is overwhelming. There isn’t a clear-cut plan we can follow to become well. Each person is unique with countless variables to consider.
Before cancer, I was considered healthy. Even since receiving a cancer diagnoses, doctors have repeatedly commented on how healthy I am. This has baffled me, how can anyone tell a cancer patient she’s healthy?
Perhaps it is because by most other standards, I am healthy. Upon examination, I’m not overweight, my blood pressure and other labs are always in the normal range. I’ve never taken regularly prescribed medications, and I’ve never had any major disease.
Cancer is this mysterious disease that indicates something has gone seriously awry in your body. No one understands it, even those who claim they do; it wreaks havoc and can tear an otherwise healthy person’s body to shreds. The disease that doesn’t follow any rules or respect any person regardless of their race, political affiliation, religion or wealth. It is non-particular and evidently random in choosing its victims. I hate cancer. Seriously. Hate it. Loathe it. For that matter, I hate all disease. They’re evil.
Being given any serious, life threatening diagnoses, whether it be cancer or some other disease, can knock even a strong, healthy person down. And if you’re expecting a fair fight, you’re in for a big surprise, because they do not play by the rules. In traditional boxing, when you’ve been knocked down, you can tap out. Not so when you are afflicted with a disease. They’re out to get you, to beat you to a bloody pulp and then some.
I suppose I am really talking about the enemy here. The enemy isn’t the cancer or any particular diagnoses. The enemy is the devil. He is the one who’s taken off the gloves and doesn’t play by the rules. He is underhanded, sneaky and will do whatever he can to lay you low, steal your hope and leave you lifeless.
What is the antidote to this unfair play? What do we have to hold on to in this fallen, wretched world that is riddled with disease and hardships unbearable?
Hope.
I cannot even pretend to have it all figured out, but I know Hope. I know it is there because it has stretched out its hand to me when I have been beaten to a pulp. It has offered me a glimpse of something better. It has given me something to hold on to.
There have been times when I have teetered on the edge of despair, hanging on by a mere thread. Emotions can get really raw when you’re under attack. I’ve stared down some very bleak landscapes and have been given countless reasons to give up.
Satan makes it hard to see hope, he likes to weigh you down in a ruthless attempt to keep you hunched over under an unbearable weight. ‘The god of this age had blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.’ I Corinthians 4:4
Ah, but hope.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28
Jesus is the healing balm, He is my rest, my sustainer. Hope is Jesus. I need Jesus.
He has carried me, continues to carry me. Because of this I can walk another step, go another day.
He tells us over and over in the Bible, “Do not be afraid.” He is with me. He is with you. He is in today and he will carry the weight.
I want hope. I’ve had a taste of it and know it is good and wonderful, and I want more. I want Him.
To those of you who may be facing your own unfair battle, I encourage you to grab hold of Jesus and do not let go. He is the Life sustainer and giver. Whatever you are up against, He is Life and He offers Hope to you freely.
‘Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set out hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many. I Corinthians 1:9-11
Teddie Austin says
Praying for you and loving you! I hope you’re gaining energy and looking forward to your summer!
I love you!