Cancer is an insidious disease that has touched millions of lives. While significant progress in defeating cancer has been made, there is still a lot of work to do. On November 7th, we celebrate Cancer Awareness Day to raise awareness of cancer and to encourage its prevention, detection, and treatment. Early detection can significantly improve survival rates. Every cancer survivor has a story to be told, and I wanted to share one with you today.
Let me introduce you to Angelo!
Angelo and I grew up next door to each other and I have known him for over 55 years. Angelo is also a cancer survivor through two bouts of cancer. In 2001, Angelo heard the words every cancer patient dreads, “get your affairs in order.” He had gone through multiple rounds of chemotherapy and radiation, and to that point none of it had worked. With the strong support of his loving family and his team of doctors, a stem cell transplant ultimately stopped the cancer and put it in remission. His cancer reappeared in 2014 and he had surgery to put the cancer back in remission where it thankfully remains today. Angelo’s story mirrors the stories of a growing number of survivors thanks to their commitment to beat cancer, donations for cancer research, and the commitment and dedication of doctors globally. One day, we will defeat cancer. It may not be in our lifetime, but we hope and pray it is in our children’s or grandchildren’s lifetimes.
How did he do it?
In addition to his amazing resiliency, Angelo is a man of deep faith and trust in God. This man has successfully beaten cancer twice, and all through the treatments, the many side effects, and disappointments he was always one of the most hopeful and positive people I have ever met. Where did that come from – rhetorical question as it came from the source of all love and hope – God. I asked him once “how do you remain so positive and upbeat?”
“I am tight with the Big Guy. We spent a lot of time together and I was able to trust God even when things looked bad. He had my back”
What does the Bible say about hope and trust?
The Bible tells us to be faithful in prayer, be enduring, to trust, and to always have hope:
Psalm 147:11 – Rather the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, those who put their hope in his mercy.
Proverbs 23:18 – For you will surely have a future, and your hope will not be cut off.
Romans 12:12 -Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer.
Romans 15:4 -For whatever was written previously was written for our instruction, that by endurance and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.
Romans 15:13 -May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Angelo now “pays it forward” and speaks to cancer patients to help them understand the process, the emotional rollercoaster, and to share his hope and trust in God so that others may have their own success stories. Unfortunately, there are still too many stories that do not end successfully. I ask you to pray to God to help the doctors find a cure for this terrible disease. For those that are cancer patients, I want to share the words of Jim Valvano, former college basketball coach at North Carolina State, and himself a victim of cancer:
“Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.”
“Nothing has ever been accomplished in any walk of life without enthusiasm, without motivation, and without perseverance.”
“We need your help. I need your help. We need money for research. It may not save my life. It may save my children’s life. It may save someone you love. And it’s very important.”
I will continue to pray for all cancer patients, survivors, and the victims and their families of this insidious disease.
God Bless
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