Friends, this is long, and it is not my usual devotion or story. Rather, it is my testimony of God’s healing grace. I include it so that if you need a miracle or healing from Jesus, you can know He really IS The Great Physician.

If you have a healing testimony, please share it in the comments section. This will serve to encourage others to believe Jesus for their healing.

MY HEALING TESTIMONY OVER BREAST CANCER

THE DIAGNOSIS

Cancer…

The very word produces fear.

The surgeon must have thought she was doing me a favor to immediately show me photos of mastectomy procedures while she explained her expertise and credentials. I was still processing the “You have cancer,” statement so the photos became a blur.

I fought the urge to run to the restroom. I didn’t need to use it; I needed to decompress…

“You must have an immediate double-mastectomy,” the surgeon said.

I persuaded her to do a lumpectomy.

“If you’ll follow-up with radiation, I will permit this,” she said, escorting me to the receptionist’s desk.

“You’re in luck! I just had a cancellation so I can get your surgery scheduled for less than a week. Please sign here…”

Luck? I felt like I had been thrown under the wheel of a Mack Truck on nitrous. Luck? If this was luck, I didn’t want it, thank you very much. I thought of the consequences of having cancer. How could my teenage children thrive with a sick mother? Would this  affect my marriage? Insecurities mounted. “You’re going to die anyway,” was at the forefront. I went home and sobbed.

My husband assured me that with the Lord’s help, we would battle whatever obstacle we needed to overcome.

THE WAITING

The days drew nearer to the surgery date. I felt like I was sitting beneath a New Year’s Eve countdown ball, and that when it fell I was going to get crushed… Everyone would be celebrating while I would be licking my wounds, or perhaps, writing a will.

Cancer… It’s an enemy that must be defeated.

I called the surgeon’s office and argued with the receptionist.

“Yes, ma’am, I do understand how ‘lucky’ it was of you to get my immediate appointment but…”

Cancer m.u.s.t be defeated…

“No, ma’am. I’m not ready to reschedule because I need time to…”

Cancer is not my master…

Cancer is not my master.

“Three weeks? Set the surgery date to four weeks from now. Yes, I do understand this is urgent but I need time to pray….”

Cancer will bow to my Master…

“Yes, ma’am. I did say, pray. You see, my Jesus heals so I need to have time with Him and then… Oh, okay, I know you have other callers. Thank you for your time….”

Buzzz…..

PRESSING IN

It is time to defeat cancer. I need to tap into my Savior’s healing power…. Life is promised to me in John 10:10-11.

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I have come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. John 10:10 KJV

The enemy’s purpose—his only purpose—is to kill, steal, and destroy. My Lord Jesus’ purpose is to defeat death, and raise to life, so I also might have life in His Name, and that in full measure.

John 10:10 gave me the confidence to dream of the day I would defeat cancer… By clinging to my  Jesus’ once nail-scarred, now beryl-set hands I would defeat cancer. Song of Solomon 5:14 talks about those beryl-set hands that were once were pierced. But now, those beryl-set hands radiate beams of glory. I imagined myself being held by both of His pierced hands and I believed Jesus accomplished the work of healing on the cross. His beryl-set hands meant He secured my victory over this enemy, cancer, and erased it by Heaven’s glory….

I must trust, rest, and allow myself to be held by my Savior’s hands….

“What can I believe You for, Lord Jesus? I can dream of not needing to go under the surgeon’s knife because You destroy the cancer ahead of time. I can believe You for the ‘twin breasts’ of Song of Solomon 7:3.

SECOND OPINION

My husband thought it was best we get a second opinion. I set up that appointment, but the hospital kept calling to reschedule. I was puzzled, but gave it no serious thought. It was just a duplicate appointment with a second hospital to confirm the findings of the first hospital.

MY DAUGHTER’S PRAYER

The date of the surgery invaded my thoughts at times, like a foe that shadowed my faith…. Fear raised its ugly head. One morning, these fears invaded my thoughts as I tried to shower and dress. I slumped onto the bathroom floor and wept.

Rap! Rap!

“Mom! What’s for breakfaaa… Mom? What are you doing in here? Mom? Why are you crying? Mom? Mom? Are you alright?” It was my daughter, Danielle. She was seeing me at my lowest point. I did not want to involve my daughter. I did not want to cause her to have to think about cancer. But, she had discovered I had fears…. She sat on the bathroom floor with me and wiped my tears.

“Mom, I think we should pray Jesus that He does on the biopsy material, the healing that is happening in your body. That way, they will see you are getting better and you won’t have to get any more tests. Does that sound good?”

“It does.”

“Let’s pray, Mommy…”

Lord Jesus, my fifteen-year-old just called me, “Mommy.” She has what I need—faith. If she trusts You, I can too. I choose to trust You this very moment.

My daughter did not grovel for words as she trusted our Jesus to fix me. She asked Him to change the slides step-by-step until her mom was perfectly healed. I clung to every word of the prayer she lifted with childlike faith.

That was the last time I cried. I rose and fought with the Word of God.

WAGING WAR

My go-to scriptures were John 10:10-11 and Song of Solomon 7:3. I read those verses aloud over and over, but I also armed myself with an arsenal of healing scriptures which I also read aloud. I paced with them, and sometimes, I commanded the devil to listen in on my Lord Jesus and my conversations so that disgusting deceiver would know where he stood—under my foot because of my Savior Jesus Christ’s shed blood, and because He had given me authority over satan and over his activity of cancer.

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy; I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:10 KJV

Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins. Song of Solomon 7:3 KJV

A lady-friend offered to pray with me. Every time we would pray, my feet burned like they were engulfed in flames. One time, my feet became so hot I didn’t think I would be able to continue to pray with her. I slipped into my car after we concluded and asked Jesus why He was touching my feet. We were praying for my breasts to be healed. I was puzzled.

In my thoughts I heard the word, “testimony,” over and over, and I got the impression this would become an encouraging testimony others could emulate. I never forgot that day. From that moment on, I began to praise my Lord Jesus that I was already healed.

A song became my private prayer. I was at peace.

NO SURGERY NEEDED

The surgery date was set. I felt ready even to face surgery. I didn’t think the surgeon would find anything, but if my Jesus wanted me to go through surgery to prove I was healed, I was okay with it. I went to the hospital for pre-surgery check-in. I filled out the necessary paperwork.

“Dear,” I said to my husband, “do you think we should cancel my appointment with the second hospital? After all, I am getting surgery in the morning.”

“Honey, if they’re ready to give their opinion, let’s learn their perspective. Perhaps we will hear good news, or, they might share a new treatment option.”

“Let’s get going, then.”

Hand-in-hand, we waited in the examining room for the doctor team at the second hospital. A tall physician approached me. She was renown for her skill in doing breast cancer surgeries.

“I have the great honor of reporting to you” the doctor said, “that you do not have cancer. I apologize for cancelling your appointments so many times but we wanted to double and triple check the accuracy of our tests before we talked with you, and that took a while. We received the slides and biopsy material from the first hospital. Because our results differed from the first hospital, we called in the head of the department here. He saw no cancer on the slides, but to be sure, we made our own slides. Our conclusion is that there are no cancer cells present on our slides or the first hospitals. After meeting as a team, we have reached the unanimous conclusion that you have no cancer.”

My husband tried to high-five me as the surgeon and her team left the room.

I declined.

“I thought you’d be glad.”

“I have to be sure. I’m supposed to have surgery in the morning.”

Because I was not convinced, the surgeon called in a lab technician. I questioned him, “I need to know how you are absolutely positive you see no cancer cells.”

“If the cancer we are looking for, called DCIS, is present, it accepts dye. Our slides are clean, and so are the slides we received from the first hospital. No dye is present. We can conclude that there is no cancer present either.”

I high-fived my husband.

“It’s what we prayed for,” he said, kissing my head. “I can’t tell you how relieved I am.”

We gathered every document the second hospital could release—all evidence that there was no cancer present—and rushed to the surgeon’s office, which was closing, but they had agreed to keep it open for us.

The staff met us with ugly stares and grunts. They were working late because their star patient was canceling, a.g.a.i.n… They must have thought I was the queen of denial. I grabbed my husband’s hand and squeezed, saying under my breath, “I’m not having surgery. Jesus healed me and the papers we handed them is the proof.”

“Agreed.”

After an icy silence—except for papers shuffling as the staff tidied their already clean office–the nurse called me into the examining room. My husband and I rose. We waited, and waited, and w a i t e d….

“I CAN’T DO SURGERY”

Finally, the surgeon entered, already talking, “I can’t do surgery. I have to admit, I thought you were delusional to cancel at the last minute like this and I was going to give you a bill for wasting my time. But I am looking at papers I do not understand. I saw with my own eyes the slides that showed the cancer cells. I check these things out, you know. But this second hospital report clearly documents the cancer is not there. Cancer that was confirmed as present at this hospital is… Well, that’s what I do not understand. We all examined the sildes and we all concluded you had cancer. But, now? I can’t operate on you because I have nothing to operate on! I would like to offer an explanation, but I do not have one…”

“I do understand what happened.”

“Explain.”

“We prayed.”

“I hear that all the time and nothing happens.”

“My Jesus changes things. You can see what He did for me.”

“With your permission, I’d like to send your slides and biopsy material to a third hospital. Surely they will know what they are doing.”

“My Jesus will confirm this healing, so you can send them. When they get there, the slides will have improved again. Let me tell you about my daughter’s prayer…”

The surgeon shook her head. She was shocked at the report but she wasn’t listening to the explanation I could have given her.

We went home and rejoiced. The Word of God, my daughter’s faith, and my burning feet were the tools Jesus used to help me overcome fear. God’s Word is simply remarkable. Healing testimonies are recorded often in the Gospels. Jesus was, is, and will always be the Healer.

THE SURGEON WAS BAFFLED

A few weeks later, I was reading my Bible on the porch and the surgeon called. “How versed are you at your diagnosis.”

“If you’re asking if you can get technical with me, feel free.”

“The slides from the first hospital showed you had DCIS, LCIS, and columnar spirilosis. The slides from the second hospital showed you had LCIS and columnar spirilosis but no DCIS. I just got off the phone with the third hospital, and only the columnar spirilosis is present. What puzzles me is they did not make new slides. They are looking at slides from the second hospital and the first. What this means is, your diagnosis has improved a third time on the same slides. The first two hospitals agreed the LCIS was present, but this third hospital denies that. Again, I have no explanation…”

“May I have a moment of your time, because I do have an explanation.”

“You may.”

“The radiologist did a fine job finding the enemy named, ‘cancer.’ You were willing to operate on me to remove it. I am convinced it was there. Everybody did their jobs well. Everyone saw correctly. The reason my diagnosis has gotten progressively better has to do with Doctor Jesus, my belief in Him, and my family and a friend who prayed with me.” I proceeded to tell the surgeon about my daughter’s prayer, my lady-friend’s prayer, and how the surgeon could put her faith in Jesus. She listened intently, asked questions, and considered my explanation.

WARRING AGAIN

Several years later, every symptom of cancer returned.

On the recommendation of my PCP, I got another mammogram.

The radiologist called me in. He slid an X-ray onto the light wall.

“Ahh!” I exclaimed with a gasp. I could clearly see the DCIS, LCIS and columnar spirilosis. I felt like I was back at square-one.

“It’s okay” the radiologist said patting my arm, “Look at the date. This X-ray was taken in 2003 when you were first diagnosed.”

I tried to calm the chill bumps on my neck.

The radiologist slid another X-ray onto the light wall. “This,” he said, smiling from ear-to-ear, “is today’s X-ray.” He pointed out it showed less columnar spirilosis, and no DCIS or LCIS. He explained the pain I was feeling was due to a titanium surgery marker he had inserted when he had done the biopsy procedure. This tiny marker was so small he had to point it out to me. It was present in both X-rays. Since I had not had surgery, it remained. I was fascinated to see the marker. I had been unaware of its existence. These before and after X-rays provided further proof that the LCIS and DCIS that had disappeared on the biopsy slides had clearly existed.

“Why does this puzzle the medical staff? Most don’t believe I’m healed.”

“I have seen this type of miracle happen to another patient many years ago, and she also was a praying believer. In that lady’s case, and in yours, there is no explanation except that Jesus healed.”

I returned home, rejoicing.

AND AGAIN…

Years later, in 2012, after having considerable pain once again, my PCP referred me to a doctor. He was convinced the cancer had returned. I was not at all convinced but because of the level of pain, I followed through with the recommended diagnostics. The doctor said there was an 80% chance the cancer had returned, or, more likely had never been properly diagnosed. He did not believe the diagnostic tests and asked me to submit to a DNA test. I agreed.

But, again we prayed. My husband and I asking Jesus to show in the DNA structure that cancer was not welcome in my body or in the DNA of our children. This prayer was more for our daughter and future grandchildren than it was for me. Neither of us thought cancer had returned. I am glad to say, the test confirmed I have no genetic markers to predispose me to cancer at the DNA level. I was tested for BRAC 1 and 2; both were clear.

I BEAT CANCER BECAUSE OF MY JESUS’ NAIL PIERCED, BERYL SET HANDS

Cancer?

I’ve beat cancer. My Jesus did this for me!

I have been cancer-free for over fifteen years since the initial diagnosis. Every mammogram I’ve had since the first one shows very little columnar spirilosis and no DCIS or LCIS. Cancer is a defeated foe!

I. am. healed! I will continue to be cancer-free because my Jesus will keep me healed.

NOW IT’S YOUR TURN TO BE HEALED

Perhaps you have been diagnosed with cancer or another ailment. Regardless of what type of cancer or ailment it is, expect your Lord Jesus to heal you. Please know it’s okay to have surgical procedures, or to take medicines, or other types of treatments. Follow how Jesus leads you, and the path He leads you on may differ from how He led me.

Find scriptures from the Bible that will encourage you. Hold these close to your heart and believe your Jesus, who is your Creator and the Great Physician, to heal YOU. Here is a prayer you might want to say and believe…

When Cancer Strikes is my personal testimony.  

It is my prayer that this testimony and others commentors post will encourage you to reach out in faith to the Great Physician, our Lord Jesus Christ, and receive your healing.

Copyright © 2018: When Cancer Strikes: Author Diane Virginia Cunio; Pen Name, Diane Virginia: All Rights Reserved: http://www.vinewords.net/when-c-a-n-c-e-r-strikes