Medical Report - The Oncologist's Prognosis

Before reading this post, I recommend that you first read "God is My Salvation".

A medical diagnosis is always the starting point for prayer. It is not the end, but the beginning, of the story. So here's my prognosis, as explained by my oncologist on December 20:

1. I have fourth-stage stomach cancer, with extensive peritoneal seeding (which means that nodules of cancer have spread throughout the abdominal cavity).

2. There is no possible cure, either by surgical intervention or through medicinal means. Chemotherapy can only delay the progress of the cancer.

3. The mean survival rate for this stage of cancer is 7-9 months (although it may be possible to stretch my life expectancy to about 18 months). Having said that, even without the Lord, there are many who beat these odds, and of course with the Lord and with your prayers, I plan to do more than just beat the odds.

The oncologist expects, now, that I should be starting chemotherapy probably in the second week of January, and there is a possibly that I could participate in a trial therapy, so I'll need to pray about that.

The short of it all is, basically, that the oncologist has confirmed much of what we already knew: Without the Lord, there's no chance of cure, but with the Lord, all things are possible! And remember, so-called "life expectancy" rates are statistical only. In other words, the experience of the majority of people with this same condition is a low-survival rate and short-term prospects. But a prognosis is not a prophecy. Doctors cannot see the future, nor can they take into account supernatural elements such as the divine intervention.

Also bear in mind, as you continue to journey with me over the next few weeks, months (and years), that I view a life-expectancy prognosis simply as the yardstick against which the miraculous healing of God is measured.

Now the reason I asked you to read "God is My Salvation" before reading this post is simple. Without placing this news in the context of what the Lord is doing in my life, the news is, to put it bluntly, devastating. Without the word of God, the word of the doctor offers no true sense of hope. After all, they are even now organising palliative care for me, and they're preparing me for months, not years, of life ahead, with the control of pain and nursing of my condition the only real hope that the medical community can offer me.

But my medical condition (the physical illness) is only one dimension of my life. There is an overriding dimension - the spiritual dimension - which is my daily walk with the Lord. The physical dimension is based on words from my oncologist (the natural physician). The spiritual dimension is based on words from God himself (the Great Physician). As Matthew 4:4 puts it:

"...It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

This means that my life is not just fed on a physical level but on a spiritual level, and it is on both levels that I am now facing this crisis.

I stand firm on the word the Lord gave me in Philippians 1:19-26:

"Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me."

This, together with other words that the Lord is speaking into my life (and which I will share with you later) is the foundation of my attitude, my behavior and, of course, my hope. Thus it is not just the Oncologist's Report to which I am responding, but also the Creator's Report, which is far more important.

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