Continued–Part 2 of 2
So, I had the needle-guided, surgical biopsy of the breast. This was a little more involved. The second part of the procedure was done under anesthesia. The surgeon was in the recovery room when I woke up. He said everything looked fine, and he didn’t expect Pathology to find any cancer cells. I was relieved.
One week later, I had a Total Thyroidectomy. When I was discharged from the hospital, the pathology reports for both the breast and the thyroid were pending.
A few days later, I returned to see the Surgeon who performed the surgical breast biopsy. To my utter shock, and the surgeon’ s as well, the pathology report revealed breast cancer.
One week after the total thyroidectomy, I had a lumpectomy of the right breast, removing a wider area of tissue, in case there were any cancer cells remaining—three surgeries, in three weeks (2 surgeries last part of 12/06 & 1 in 01/07.) Praise God, the pathology report showed “clean margins”—no cancer in the surrounding breast tissue.
Shortly after the lumpectomy of the breast, I returned for a follow-up visit to see the surgeon who performed the thyroidectomy. Having just received the news about breast cancer, I was really nervous sitting in that waiting room, not knowing what news the surgeon would give me regarding the thyroid pathology. Praise God, no cancer cells were found in the Thyroid.
Several weeks passed, and slowly I began to regain my strength–as my body began to heal from three surgeries in three weeks. I praised God, again and again, for the early detection of breast cancer, and for sparing me the agony of a mastectomy and chemotherapy. I would only need 25 radiation treatments (5 weeks.) I told my family and friends, I was probably the happiest person with breast cancer, you could ever meet.
Though I continued to praise God for all He had done for me, I had forgotten the words of my prayers to “bind and cast out” any cancer in my body.
Then one morning, in those first few moments upon awakening, when the voices of the world are still silent, I heard the words of my prayer repeated, “please bind the cancer, and cast it out.”
I realized for the first time, since my surgeries, that the cancer had been “bound.” I had Ductal Carcinoma In Situ, which is a localized cluster of cancer cells that have not penetrated the duct walls into the surrounding tissue. The cancer had not spread beyond the place where it originally developed. The cancer was literally “bound in the duct.”
As I thought of the rest of my prayer, asking that any “cancer be cast out”; I heard these words, “That can be done with a surgeon’s knife, you know.” I praised God with a joyous heart.
I knew, without a doubt, that hearing the words of the “T.V. minister,” who encouraged Christians to pray the words of Matthew 16:19, was not a coincidence.
Today, I could not tell you the name of the TV minister or even his religious affiliation. However, the words in The Gospel of Matthew, will be forever in my heart.
Not only had the prayer been given to me, it had also been answered. The cancer was gone; it was, indeed, “bound and cast out”; and I had been healed.
Scripture tells us that the Spirit helps us in our weakness, and intercedes according to the will of God, when we do not know what to pray as we ought:
Romans 8:26-27 (ESV): 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
It has been five years, since I completed the treatment for breast cancer. I remain cancer free.
I think about this experience, often. I’m sure it will always be with me. I realized, by the Spirit providing the words to pray—that “the cancer be bound and cast out;” and then answering the prayer by literally binding the cancer in the duct and casting it out with the surgeon’s knife; God’s Name was glorified in so many ways.
The power of God’s Word was demonstrated, as the Scripture came alive, through the Holy Spirit. I realized that just as God is infinite, the power to accomplish His purpose through Holy Scripture must surely be infinite, as well.
Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the “Word of God is living and active.” This experience opened my eyes to this truth.
Hebrews 4:12-13 (ESV): 12For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
May God’s Name be Glorified, in the miracles He performs in our lives. May we never attempt to impose limits on God’s use of His Holy Word.
Peace and blessings,
Anna
