Three Years Later

My dad has been in treatment for cancer for nearly three years. I am in awe of that statement for so many reasons. Dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer in May 2023, and his oncologist successfully treated him with surgery. We had just gotten the call a week later - clear margins, cancer free! Then the next morning, a large lump appeared on my dad’s neck. I will never forget that day. My mom called me to come look at it and we decided he should go to the ER in case it was a blood clot of some kind. He was only a week post-op, after all. My parents had a long day of waiting in the ER before the second terrifying phone call I received that day. It wasn’t a blood clot in his neck. It was lymph nodes full of cancer. It hadn’t spread from the prostate though; this was from the lung. A totally separate and unrelated cancer that just happened to appear right after treatment from the first. Our whole family’s life turned upside down with that second diagnosis - extensive small cell lung cancer. It’s a nasty, aggressive cancer that can grow and spread quickly. I have never in my life felt pain and fear and shock like I did after that diagnosis. I honestly thought we would have a matter of months left with my dad. But here we are, nearly THREE YEARS LATER. My fear and sadness felt so huge and so overwhelming in those early days. But now we have seen and known for certain that God is bigger than any statistic, any “average life expectancy” googled question. God acts according to His will and purposes and He is limited by nothing. My dad’s every breath (and mine and yours) are planned and provided by God. There have been so many ways we have seen God’s hand on my dad in the last three years. We were led to an incredible team at Pardee Oncology who love and care for him. Dad got into a clinical trial that very few people have qualified for which allowed him to get radiation in addition to chemotherapy. God most certainly used this to extend his life. He has made dad strong to handle immunotherapy treatments every three weeks since his diagnosis. And even that neck lump coming to the surface and terrifying all of us, was an indicator that something was wrong. This cancer often grows and spreads quickly because it can go undetected for a long time. We were able to catch it early because of that lump. Turns out the scariest day of my life was actually a gift from the Lord. My fears could never diminish God’s power, just my perception of it. But hindsight shows me that God is bigger than everything we have dealt with the last three years, and He is bigger than everything we have ahead of us. 

The command to “remember” is found over 200 times in scripture. Remember what God has done before. Don’t forget the works of His hands! God knows we are finite and fickle. He knows we tend to focus more on the struggles of every new day instead of the new mercies He’s provided to meet them. He knows we can get consumed by worrying about our hardships rather than remembering the times He’s carried us through in the past. These constant reminders to pause and remember have been a gift to weary Christians throughout time. Today I am remembering, and proclaiming, all that God has done in our lives. I hope it makes you consider His greatness and love today and causes you to draw close to Him. I have heard my dad say “Praise the Lord!” countless times in the last three years. I will never tire of hearing it. Please join us today in shouting His praise! And please pray for my dad as he continues his fight. So far, all of his treatments have kept the cancer stable. The cancer is still there, but not growing, spreading, or worsening. He will continue immunotherapy to help his body keep fighting this nasty disease. Dad is so strong but these treatments every three weeks still take a toll, physically and mentally. Please pray for continued strength. On top of being horrible to go through, having cancer is also expensive. God has provided for every doctor visit, every infusion, every CT scan, MRI, and medications for this whole journey, and we trust and believe He will continue to do so. If you feel led to donate to Dad’s treatment for the next year, my family would appreciate it so very much. But more than anything, please join us in thanking God for what He has done, and asking Him to continue to help Dad in his fight. Thank you for being in our corner.