“I lift up my eyes to
the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker
of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1—2
Like so many cancer patients, I try to watch what I eat and
drink to maximize my quality of life and to support my therapy, hoping always that
food, drink, medicine, and prayer will heal me of this disease once and for
all. Some days it can be overwhelming to navigate the research available
regarding supplements and diets, and the impact that such foods may
have—positively and negatively—on my disease. It’s easy to feel guilty for what
I eat, as well as for what I don’t eat.
Last spring I hired a nutritionist to
guide me, but several months later I relapsed while on a special herbal
protocol. My nutritionist wanted me to try another natural treatment, to “hit
it hard” with a blend of burdock seed, poke, baptisia, mistletoe, and other
natural poisons. She even called this special formula “Saving Dana”. She is not
a quack in medical circles—she teaches nutritional classes to medical students
at well-known hospitals and has a pharmaceutical background, and I have the
utmost respect for her. But even though I knew her custom blend would never be
enough to combat my aggressive disease, it was such a dear, generous, and
loving gesture to prepare a special tonic for me that I didn’t want to
disappoint her. I took it faithfully while my oncologist ordered a biopsy of a
lymph node and we waited for results. A month later, after taking only the
special tonic, my numbers were worse than they had been in almost 7 years. God then
led me to begin an immunotherapy that my oncologist recommended, thereby
“ruining” the alternative treatment and letting the nutritionist down.
I know that many times alternative treatments work, but just
as many—if not more times—they don’t.
Perhaps the special tonic would have worked in another situation or if I had taken
it longer, but my numbers were rising so quickly that I couldn’t take that
chance. Nobody can make such a difficult, personal decision regarding a
treatment or therapy except the patient. It’s the very same with our response
to God. He doesn’t call us all to follow Him in the same way. I know some
amazing Christian cancer patients who have been healed by faith alone and not with
traditional medicine. In my situation, God has not chosen to work that way but
rather continues to lead me to amazing doctors and new therapies that keep my
disease at bay, but which do not eradicate my cancer completely. I yearn for Him
to take it away forever, but He hasn’t chosen to do that yet.
The most critical thing we can do is pray for God to guide
us. He is a God of order, not of confusion, and He will make the path clear for
us. We can only follow the path, however, if we are walking in His light, if we
are spending time in His word. “Your word
is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105) When I am
swimming in a sea of confusion about which way to go, it’s almost always
because I haven’t spent enough time in prayer, or because I haven’t been
patient enough to hear His directive. Sometimes I’m so confused that I need to
ask others to help me discern His guidance, and that’s okay, too. He doesn’t
always speak to us directly—sometimes He speaks through others—but when we abide
in Him as his “trusting sheep”, we will always recognize His voice, and we will
always find His path.
The next most critical thing we can do is not to judge one
another’s decisions, but to pray earnestly for one another. Mother Teresa said:
“Criticism is nothing less than dressed up pride. It eats up all the love of
God.” We’re all in this together—let’s pray earnestly for each another and not
judge one another’s treatment decisions. God does not treat all His children
alike—our burdens are not the same—but He loves us equally and passionately and
will always do what is right for each of us. What an amazing God we serve!
Dear Lord, We are drowning
in options and information in this society! Help us to make sense of the
treatments available to us. You have created these marvelous bodies, and You
know exactly what they need to be healthy and to fight disease. Help us to hear
Your voice and to follow Your lead. Shine Your light on the right supplements,
the right protocol, the right doctor. We know that You have amazing plans for
each of us, and every day we wake up amazed that You want to use us for another
day. Thank You for this gift of love! In Jesus’ name, Amen.
