On 21st July this year, my wife and I were told that I had bowel cancer with a secondary on the liver. We were stunned, as except for some slight discomfort and an awareness I was finding the hills of Wincanton a little more difficult to walk up, I was in good health. There had been no weight loss and I was still enjoying swimming, football and cricket with our boys.
After more tests the diagnosis was confirmed and chemotherapy would be needed to reduce the secondary on the liver, for surgery to be possible.
As a Baptist Minister, I had visited many people with serious illness. Within the last year both parents had died, having suffered serious illness and yet I had always been the one looking on, rather than being physically affected. Now it was my turn.
I know that many who read this will have either experienced similar news, or know family members and friends who have. And I suspect there are some shared reactions and some different reactions to the news.
The period from the initial diagnosis to the confirmation was one of hope and despair, as not knowing is the most difficult phase. This period led to thoughts about ‘hope’.
Firstly, there was the false hope that the diagnosis might have been wrong…after all I was carrying on as normal. Members of the Baptist Church and friends around the world were praying for me and the family…and God can and does heal people supernaturally.
Secondly, there is the sure and certain hope that, as a Christian, I have in Jesus Christ. Through his life, death and resurrection, Jesus or ‘Immanuel/God with us’ has defeated sin/wrong doing, sickness and even death. In him the future is secure for those who believe. This of course does not mean that everything will be wonderful in this life for Christians. It is only belief in Jesus that separates Christians from non-Christians. So when the cancer was diagnosed, I didn’t ask ‘why me?’, but I did ask God to help me, my family and the church, which I have been called to pastor, to learn the lessons he would teach us through this. The other part of the sure and certain hope I have is that Jesus is with me at all times, because he promised never to leave his followers.
I am grateful for the support of the church, family and friends and for the expertise contained in the team responsible for my treatment at Yeovil Hospital.
Above all, because of the hope I have in Jesus Christ, I can say with Paul, the apostle, “ For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21)
If you are in a similar situation and would like to talk then please leave a comment below. If you live in the Wincanton area, why not come along to the coffee morning, which we hold on the first and third Thursdays of the month in the church hall from 10:30am?
Cancer is a frightening disease. Probably the most frightening thing about it is that we don’t really take much notice of it till it hits home, or close to home. We tend to keep it at arms length until it affects us in some personal way.
I was staggered when I went for my first visit to the McMillan Cancer unit in Yeovil to start the “Staging” process (To discover whether my cancer was low grade, middle of the road, or aggressive).
Just sitting in the McMillan waiting room and observing the people there, I was shocked to recognise several people from my own town. One I new as a neighbour to the church. Others I recognised but didn’t know their names.
This cancer thing affects more people than we first realise. Has it affected you? Are you struggling with it? There isn’t a lot you can do about it. Maybe we can help or encourage each other. Sharing burdens can help a lot.