FIGHTING CANCER: A CHRISTIAN VIEW

   For a long time I have been intrigued by the statement, "___________ is fighting cancer".  What is meant by that, of course, is that ___________ is undergoing treatments.  They are not, themselves, "fighting" the malignancy; the medical professionals are fighting it with various therapies:  chemical, radiation, surgery, etc.   The person being treated, if they are fighting at all, is probably fighting a mental and psychological battle.  "Do I continue enduring this or do I just give up?"

   My wife Susan fought that battle in 1989 while undergoing the chemotherapy protocols of that time.  She endured for six months and the protocols called for two more rounds of treatment, but she said "enough".  Her oncologist agreed.  The cancer she was "fighting" was follicular lymphoma.  Over the next twenty

years it reappeared at least four times and was treated with oral chemotherapy, radiation and finally with what is now the cutting edge of cancer therapy, monoclonal antibodies.  If it does not appear on her scheduled C-scan this December she will have gone ten years without a relapse.  

   Any number of our friends have not had the same happy results that she has had.  This leads us, as Christians, to the question of why seemingly so few are delivered from cancer in answer to earnest prayer on their behalf by other believers.  That miracles do occur has been well documented.   So, is God "arbitrary".  Or, are there other answers?  Or, will we never have all the answers in this life?

   The purpose of this blog is to redefine, or at least expand the definition of, what it means to "fight cancer". Actual, meaningful fighting of cancer, and all other diseases, begins as soon as one is old enough to make decisions about what they will eat.  The research is massive and the conclusions are undeniable.  The weapons in this war are, or should be, well known by now:  green or other brightly colored vegetables and fresh fruits; adequate intake of vitamins C and D and trace elements such as boron; minimizing the intake of red and fatty meats;  minimizing the intake of refined sugars; adequate amounts of fiber; more intake of fish, especially salmon;  and adequate intake of water.

   This does not exhaust the list of physical weapons but it constitutes a pretty good arsenal.  We turn now to the spiritual weapons against disease.  In the image you see above is a quote from Isaiah chapter 58.  Please look at the entire chapter, especially verse 8 and the words "your healing will quickly appear".  A life spent helping to relieve the suffering of others, this passage says, brings blessings from God upon one's own health.  There is no formula to guarantee perfect health in this life but a war against disease waged with both the physical and spiritual weapons we have briefly mentioned here would, I am convinced, result in much more health than we are seeing at present.

   "What if I follow all the advice in this blog and still, someday, get a diagnosis of terminal cancer", you ask.  I answer that you can look to God, and to the people standing ready to pray for you, with a clear conscience that you have done all that is humanly possible.  Your future, and mine, is then in the Hands of Him Who "spared not His own Son but gave Him up for us all" and from Whose Love "nothing can separate us".