Taking on Cancer

Cancer is a term used for diseases in which abnormal cells divide without control and are able to invade other tissues.

All cancers begin in cells, the body's basic unit of life. To understand cancer, it's helpful to know what happens when normal cells become cancer cells.

The body is made up of many types of cells. These cells grow and divide in a controlled way to produce more cells as they are needed to keep the body healthy. When cells become old or damaged, they die and are replaced with new cells.

However, sometimes this orderly process goes wrong. The genetic material (DNA) of a cell can become damaged or changed, producing mutations that affect normal cell growth and division. When this happens, cells do not die when they should and new cells form when the body does not need them. The extra cells may form a mass of tissue called a tumor.

Not all tumors are cancerous; tumors can be benign or malignant.

Benign tumors aren't cancerous. They can often be removed, and, in most cases, they do not come back. Cells in benign tumors do not spread to other parts of the body.

Malignant tumors are cancerous. Cells in these tumors can invade nearby tissues and spread to other parts of the body. The spread of cancer from one part of the body to another is called metastasis. (Taken from the National Cancer Institute Website - www.cancer.gov)

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Ever had a moment when you knew exactly what you wanted to say, but couldn't quite find the words? That's where I find myself right now. I am dealing with something internally that can best be described as a Cancer. I know it to be cancer because it is acting very much in the way that is described by the National Cancer Institute. I am experiencing it in much the same way that one might experience thirst. It's not a feeling you can readily describe to someone who is not now, nor has never been thirsty. However, once someone has had that experience, they know exactly what you mean.

This Cancer that I am taking on is not physical. I do not want anyone reading this right now to leave with that thought. That thought - as much as the one I am trying to share - I rebuke in the Name of Jesus. The Cancer that I am taking on right now is spiritual. It began either in my head or in my heart . . . not sure which. Either way, it started as a negative thought, feeling, experience, circumstance, occurance, behavior . . . either real or imagined. And it has snowballed . . .formed a tumor . . . and has begun to metastisize. No matter its origin (head or heart) it didn't take long for the cancer to spread to the other organ . . .head affecting heart or heart affecting head - result is the same. Both the head and the heart are infected. And once the head and heart are involved it doesn't take long to spead to other parts of the body - family, friends, work.

It most likely started as something small. Cells are pretty darned small. And then it encountered some 'like' cell and attached itself. It felt powerful there and continued to grow. Well, you're probably asking, if I knew it was there, why didn't I treat it when it was small? My answer is not a good one, but it is similar to what I've heard from cancer patients. "I knew I was feeling bad, but I thought the feeling would go away." "I thought it was something minor, so I did not think it warranted my attention."

Once the cancer has been diagnosed then you send yourself down that long pity path of "woulda, coulda, shoulda." Once the cancer has been diagnosed you can either let it continue to eat away at your body, or you can pray and seek treatment. Depending on how far the cancer has spread, the treatment may be simple. Some skin (surface) cancers can be removed with a laser - you aim it right at the troubled spot and remove it before it has a chance to touch anything else. The same can be said for some tumors - you can remove just that tumor and never see traces of that cancer again. However, sometimes, the treatment plan has to be highly detailed, involved, strategic, radical, envasive . . . sometimes, the cancer spreads when the initial spot is opened up.

Does anyone out there relate to this? Or am I the only cancer patient?

Sometimes doctors fear the removal of a tumor - thinking that treating the affected area will cause irreparable damage to some other organ. The key word in that sentence is fear. We fear, so we do nothing. Meanwhile, the cancer continues to spread. There must be a better solution. Perhaps we proceed with additional caution. I could buy that. We take our time; we seek to only treat the affected area(s). And if, while we act to treat the part that is sick, we accidently hurt something else, we work while there is still a cavity and repair it too. We do not close up the wound while there are still areas that need treatment.

I dunno - maybe I'm just ramblin. It sounded good in my head.

Father God, on behalf of all the cancer patients out there like me - suffering from spiritual cancer - we seek your Divine Intervention. We know that no surgical team or laser can come close to the precision with which You operate. Go, Father, straight to the source of the problem and remove it so that it does not continue to affect the rapidly decaying body. Heal, Father, that area, so that there was never any sign that the cancer existed. Treat, Father, all other areas where the cancer thought it stood a chance to grow - so that they are resistant and do not become affected or infected. Forgive us for being lazy in seeking treatment and for not acknowledging pain as an indication that something was wrong. Help us to seek wholistic treatment and live healthier lives so that the cancer does not have a chance to form again. We know that in Your hands there is nothing that cannot be accomplished. And so, we remove this from our hands and place it into Yours. And we offer this prayer in the Name of Your Son Jesus. Amen.