Partial Remission Accomplished!
“Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; Save me, and I shall be saved, for You are my praise.” Jeremiah 17:14
A few days before my 60th birthday, on February 23rd, following a battery of tests, blood panels and examinations, my oncologist sat me down and gave me the rather shocking news:
- Despite being diagnosed with aggressive Stage 4 Metastatic Prostate Cancer three years ago ...
- Despite being informed that statistically I had approximately 3 to 6 months to live ...
- Despite having cancer saturate my prostate, lymphatic system, bladder and bones (pelvis, spine, ribs and jaw) ...
- Despite making the decision to decline the recommended aggressive radiation and chemo treatments and opting, instead, to heal my immune system and, subsequently, my cancer through diet and non-medical protocols ...
He officially upgraded my diagnosis to “Partial Remission”, which means I’m 50% or more improved over against my original diagnosis!! I asked him to say it again several times — partly because I was having trouble wrapping my mind around the word “remission“ and partly because I just wanted to hear it out loud a few more times!!
The Miracle
This is nothing short of a miracle and wouldn’t have been possible without the partnership of my wife, Becky, and support of my extended family, without the prayers of the saints from so many churches on Kauai and across the globe, without your love and encouragement and the love and encouragement of good friends near and far and, above all, without the grace, mercy and goodness and healing power of God!!
Having said that, I’m not out of the woods yet and have a long, circuitous and uncertain journey ahead (so, please don’t stop praying)! But, none of these things move me knowing my future is absolutely secure in the hands of the Lord! Consequently, my eyes, heart and life are fixed on Christ and I’m free to fully engage in His work — daily sharing the “Good News” of forgiveness of sins through the finished work of Christ, strengthening the saints, mentoring/training leaders, encouraging and supporting a number of existing churches and new church plants and coaching a rapidly growing number of cancer patients across the US who are looking for an alternative to radiation and chemo!! I’m using (and sometimes abusing - lol) my cancer as a platform for the glory of God and I’m loving every minute of it (well, almost every minute)!! 🤣🤣
Who would have guessed that something as horrible as cancer could be such a gift, such an unexpected blessing to me and so many others, such a source of empowerment for living the Epic Life, such an enhancement to ministry enabling me to enthusiastically say, “I love cancer!!” and such a remarkably counterintuitive backdrop for the magnificent, glorious and praise-worthy works of God to be beautifully displayed?!?!
But, we shouldn’t be too surprised — in fact, if you reread that last paragraph and replace the word “cancer” with “the cross”, it reveals the mystery of God’s redemptive plan from Genesis to Revelation (no, I mean it — do it now! 🤨)!
Our Hope
That should give all of us reason to have hope in the midst of even the most daunting and seemingly impossible circumstances that God’s promise “that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” is reliable and trustworthy — freeing us from our many crippling fears and enabling us to joyfully embrace the euphoric pleasures of the epic life!
In closing, King David’s words in Psalm 34 capture my heart response to God’s miraculous deliverance: “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt His name together!!”