Words Are Powerful! Make Sure You’re Believing The Right Ones!

If you’re reading this because you have cancer, you know the fear and sometimes absolute terror of hearing those words, “It is malignant.” or “You have cancer”! You might have had a fear of cancer for many years, having experienced family or friends getting a cancer diagnosis and always thinking, “I might be next … “. I know I did. My mom had breast cancer, which then metastasized to her bones five years after her original diagnosis. She chose radiation and suffered much from it. She died one year later. Since then, I felt, in many ways, that my fate was sealed if I was to ever be diagnosed with cancer. It was never far from my mind and the thoughts always included suffering and death.

Several years ago I read an article about how in a certain tribe the words spoken over a person could literally cause them to lose hope and die. I’ve tried in vain in find the article so will give you the main point I took away from reading it. Within this tribe, they had a custom of giving a bone to a tribal member as a token of judgment. Simply put, if you received the bone you were pronounced guilty/unredeemable and unable to remain with your tribe. It was such a powerful act that this unfortunate individual walked into the wilderness and often died.
I have experienced the power of words spoken by those I trusted, both good and bad. When my oncologist put his hand on my husband’s shoulder and told him if I didn’t receive chemotherapy the cancer would definitely show up somewhere else in my body and it was only a matter of time because of the lymph node involvement, it took all my courage to try to believe anything else. When I finally made the phone call to cancel the scheduled chemo appointment, it was one of the hardest things I’d ever done. Who was I to think I could go against all the medical wisdom being given me? I’d already had the surgery to have the mediport placed under my skin – how could I change course now?
I had to start believing that what I was doing could work. Experts do tell us that a patient needs to believe in their treatment, whatever that treatment may be, because belief is such a powerful thing.
My main goal in writing this is to plead with you to under no circumstances believe anyone who tells you when you will die! No human being can know this about you! No doctor knows this either! I’m not saying to disregard all medical advice and believe whatever you want! I’m sharing that, for me, not allowing the pronouncements of what my future would be like should I take a different path, was vital, not only for my mental and emotional well being, but for the strength to keep moving forward. As a Christian believer and a person who needs to see the big picture before tackling the details, I had to come to terms with what I truly believed about my life and my death. And it was this: I have a certain number of days allotted to me by God and no one knows how many except Him. Of all the thoughts and positive affirmations I held, this one basic truth gave me more peace of mind and strength to carry on than any other.
I also need to clarify that I do believe that physicians, hospice workers, etc can give us some timelines that can be helpful during end of life situations. Just don’t take on anyone’s opinion of your own lifespan when fighting a disease like cancer.
I’m including two family pictures here that I’m thrilled to be a part of! Believe you can have a wonderful life and future too!