One spring day in 2012, my husband, Russell, and I got news that rocked our world: he had bladder cancer.
We couldn’t believe it. We’d always led a healthy lifestyle: we ate well, exercised regularly… probably worked too much, but that was normal for the fast-paced media and communications world in which we lived.
What could possibly have gone wrong?
There was little time to figure it out. Within a week, Russell was in surgery to have a small tumor removed. The procedure went well, and being ridiculously naïve, we thought we could now simply resume our happy lives. But when the pathology report revealed more cancer still lurked in the bladder tissues, the reality hit: this wasn’t the end of our trial; it was barely the beginning.
We were informed that this type of cancer was so malevolent and resistant to treatment that Russ would probably lose his bladder—a prospect that made us shudder.
I put out an SOS call to family and friends across the country for intensive prayer and counsel. It was to be the first of many spectacular lessons God would teach us about how He works through the body of Christ to provide just the right resources when we need them.
Russell’s post operative recovery was painful. We soon learned the surgery had been done roughly, so we sought a second opinion. Again, the answer came through our community of friends and we quickly had a referral for an excellent specialist at USC Norris.
We liked this surgeon instantly and switched doctors on the spot. Unfortunately, he, too, had a dark prognosis of Russell’s full recovery, though he was willing to try an innovative treatment that had shown varying degrees of success with other patients.
As God would have it, I was alone when this specialist cautioned me that this cancer was the worst kind: it would not even respond to chemotherapy. He only gave the treatment a 25-30 percent chance of success and said there was a 95 percent likelihood that he’d have to take Russell’s bladder out to save his life.
The news devastated me, but specialists should never give a praying wife who knows Jesus an ultimatum because she won’t believe it—and, despite my fear and trembling, I didn’t. I knew that for all our human wisdom, God, our Creator and Redeemer, would have the last word.
Since Russell was the one who had to fight this intruder in his own body, I chose to keep the surgeon’s horrid statistics from him for several months. While it was a heavy burden for me, it kept me on my knees, and proved to be a wise choice that helped Russ have steadfast faith for his healing.
The timing of events through that summer was challenging. I wanted the treatments to begin right away, but our USC doctor said we had to wait three months—enough time for Russell to recover from his tumor surgery and allow for an accurate reading when he performed the biopsy. This exam would reveal where and how deeply the malignancy was in the bladder tissue. However, he said, one thing was certain: this cancer wanted to bust
out and kill.
Sometimes God hurls us into the great unknown, where we are completely out of control, so we can grow new spiritual muscles. During these dark and terrifying times, while we grope and develop, we come face-to-face with our human frailty, our total dependence on Him and our need for radical trust. There is simply nowhere else to turn! If we do not cling to Him, we risk being hijacked by fear, depression or despair.
Truthfully, we were tempted and gripped by all of these in varying degrees throughout our journey. However, we found that believing-- really, truly believing God’s Word repelled the darkness, reassured us of His love, His awesome power, and His divine protection. It filled us every day with the courage to fight—and fight fiercely.
Though we had to wait three months until the biopsy, doing nothing was out of the question, so we embarked on several spiritual and nutritional strategies that proved very beneficial.
The first was, naturally, embracing a rigorous daily devotion time with the Lord. We pored over Scriptures, memorized the promises that He gave to us—they literally jumped off the page and into our hearts—and prayed these back to him throughout the day without ceasing. We prayed together, we prayed alone, we poured out our hearts to God, we shed a lot of tears.
We also journaled, fasted (sensibly) and did a ruthlessly honest spiritual inventory to ensure nothing was in the way that could impede Russell’s healing. This led to both of us doing some counseling to resolve deep-seated fears and old wounds. Again, our counselor was a pastor-friend. The process was liberating.
We also mobilized a series of prayer sessions in our home. Some were large events with 40 or more people and others smaller with groups of 5-10. At one point, our prayer partners numbered more than 100 and lived as far away as Australia and India. God bless them all!
Sometimes, they called in on a prearranged number to pray when we gathered together. These sessions were unforgettable, transcendent and inspiring and we lowered Russell figuratively through the roof and laid him at the feet of Jesus (Mark 2:4). The burden that lifted off our shoulders during these sessions was palpable and made our hearts burst with gratitude.
God also used yet another friend to direct our attention to a nutrition expert whose system was having remarkable success with many chronic ailments, including cancer. As we delved deeper, we found his principles made sense, so we both began following a specific dietary approach. We chose to do this together so I could be a support to Russell.
Within a few weeks, we were greatly encouraged to see Russ’ complexion change from a greyish tone to a healthier pink. He also experienced other physical improvements and was feeling well overall. I felt great, too!
During this same season, God led us to cross paths with an old friend, a cancer survivor himself, who today runs a powerful ministry that spiritually strengthens those struggling with life-altering conditions. We recognized this as another divine appointment and found his wisdom greatly fortifying.
Our pastors at Lake Avenue Church were also wonderfully supportive. They laid hands on Russell, anointed him with oil and we had several powerful prayer sessions that strengthened our hearts.
God used yet another friend (on the east coast!) who told us about a Christian facility in Irvine, California that specializes in alternative cancer treatments.Their non-invasive, non-toxic approach integrates the body, mind and spirit, and their list of success stories with all kinds of cancers was encouraging.
We visited the facility and studied their therapies. Many are cutting edge, and a growing body of research is proving their effectiveness. Our USC specialist did not feel any of these would conflict with his upcoming treatments, so with his approval, we agreed we would combine a select few together with his approach.
However, before we could begin, it was time for the biopsy. The event required a half day in the hospital and a full anesthetic. We were filled with hope that between the prayers, spiritual cleansing and nutrition regime of the previous three months, we might hear that we’d beaten the cancer already.
We were thrilled when our USC surgeon said the healing of Russell’s bladder from his bruising surgery had been remarkable. But, a week later, the pathology report indicated cancer still existed in two locations. Thankfully, it was contained in the interior wall of the bladder’s three layers, so the enemy had not yet broken through our defenses. There was still time to win this war!
God nudged me that now was the moment to tell Russell about the dim chances our USC surgeon gave his treatments. The Lord needed Russ to fully realize the stakes and mobilize an even greater inner resolve. Though the news naturally devastated him, at first, He soon found strength in the God’s promises and buoyed by the prospect of beginning both sets of treatments, his heart became steadfast. This response was a huge relief to
me! Going forward, we could now shoulder this enormous burden together.
Russell began doing the integrated therapies in Irvine as well as the treatments at USC. The alternative treatments took several hours and required driving round trip twice a week from Los Angeles to Orange County for six weeks. Then, on Friday mornings, Russell went to USC for their treatments. During these sessions, I prayed with a small group of friends for God to anoint these fluids and make them hugely effective.
It was a fairly grueling schedule, but, with God’s strength, we ran the race marked out for us with hearts full of faith. By early December we’d finished both sets of the therapies. God had sustained us and Russell had shown such stamina and courage! Then, it was
time for a second biopsy with a full anesthetic to monitor his progress.
Christmas was now days away, so we had to wait until the new year for the lab results. It was very difficult! We escaped to a lakeside resort in Mexico to try and get some some rest. That turned out to be an adventure in itself (ah,Mexico!), but the change of scenery did us good.
January 2nd, at 10 a.m., we phoned USC Norris to get our lab results. We could hardly breathe. The nurse’s voice on the other end of the phone cheerfully declared that Russell’s results were negative. He was cancer free! Besides having check ups every 3 to 6 months, the battle was over. No more treatments, no more surgery…we were done.
We could hardly believe it!
As the truth slowly sank in, we were overwhelmed with gratitude to the Lord for his unfailing love and faithfulness; to our extraordinary family and friends for their loyalty, devotion and endurance; to our pastors for their shepherding and care. There were no words, just shouts of praise and tears of joy.
We’d been set free! But, this victory was not just ours; it belonged to everyone who’d stood by our side and fought in the trenches with us. We asked ourselves what could we possibly do to thank everyone and give back?
We decided to compile all the events, the lessons and resources into a book as a testimony that would honor God and help others. Called Grateful Warriors, How we Beat Cancer through Faith, Nutrition and Integrated Therapies, it will be released this July, during Badder Cancer Awareness Month. We trust it will be a blessing to many.
We offer here our deep thanks to the pastors at LAC: Roger Bosch, Bill Mead, Greg Waybright, Walter Alexander, the Prayer Ministry, as well as to the Convalescent Ministry team who visited us at home. And to all our dear friends at Lake who walked through this fire with us, faithfully praying and believing with us, how extraordinary and brave you are— words are simply not enough to express our admiration and thanks.
We will not cease to declare our wonder, praises and gratitude to God for His mercy, loving-kindness and faithfulness. How He led us through this “valley of the shadow of death” (Psalm 23:4) is a miracle. May we be a living testament of His goodness!
“Praise the Lord, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise His holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not His benefits--
who forgives all your sins
and heals your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
(Psalm 103:1-5)