Is There Power in Positive Thinking?

This positive thinking thing is hard to figure out the value of and even harder to implement.  Most of the people say that a person must keep a positive outlook in order to not only have a good mental attitude but help in the healing process itself . Is there anything to it?

Being a Christian, I try to run everything past scripture to give me a gage of what is correct thinking.  Paul tells us the kind of things we should be thinking in Philippians 4:8 where he states:

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.

Is thinking about these things considered positive thinking?  There is certainly nothing negative in the list.  If these are not the things that we are to be thinking about, then what does positive thinking look like?  I want to get the correct perspective because I have seen people look like they are incredibly positive and be so negative.  I know I don’t want that.

I like it when I think about true, noble, right, or pure things as Paul suggests.  When I am in that state of mind, I am seldom thinking about myself.  The key to this positive thinking game seems to be focusing more on others and their needs and consider their situation above my own.  I know that I have to be thinking of others more than myself to be at all pleasant to be around.

Is it as simple as thinking of others?  That does not seem to be right since I am supposed to be positive about myself.  We are commanded in scripture in many places to think of others more highly than ourselves.  There is certainly something to it.

Is positive thinking constantly saying that things will be alright for me?  To me that is awfully shallow.  Personally I would rather seek to have peace with my God and with those around me.  If I can arrive at that place, then much of the rest of life falls into place and studies show that your thoughts strengthen your immune system.

I am not sure that having a positive attitude and trying to “will” my illness really changes much in our bodies or whatever we are trying to heal.  The actions and decisions of God determine the direction healing takes.  But the positive, peaceful person is much more pleasant to be around than those who are not.

The attitude that you have throughout this whole process in a choice and most people don’t get that simple fact.  Most of the time we react to situations the way we always have rather than choosing from the options available.  That behavior often comes from how we have been raised.  It is a simple choice to choose happiness, but for some that is complicated.  I would rather rest in the hands of the creator and choose to be positive about the situation makes my life a lot more fun to live.

Anger Is Not Your Friend

This has been two days that I’m not proud of.  Something happened in my life separate from all of the cancer/MDS things that made me angry.  It was one of those character challenging events that seem so important at the time, and the whole event made me mad.  To this point I have not be able to talk with anyone to resolve any of the issues.  When I get angry, it tends to consume me regardless of how much I pray or give it to the Lord.

Unfortunately, this anger spills over into other areas of my life.  Anything that I encounter in my life that does not meet my expectations tends to set me off.  I get angry at administration procedures that require ridiculous repetition.  I get angry at the amount of time that I spend in waiting rooms.  This bad attitude that accompanies my anger gets aimed at all of the nurses and administrators that I encounter.  It’s not a pleasant time.

The worst reactions are inside of me.  I don’t have peace.  I don’t have my positive attitude.  I am no fun to be around.  Even worse, the behavior ripples through my body and affect my healing process.

Anger isolates us.  No one wants to come near and I don’t blame them.  I don’t like to be isolated because I know where it leads.  I don’t want Satan to have any control or influence in my life.  I know that I will eventually have the discussions to that will resolve my current issue.  I know that prayers to the Lord will help me deal with any residue from the discussions.  I know that my current anger condition is temporary.

The bad thing is that some people carry that kind of anger with them all of the time.  Somehow they get stuck in the anger phase in the process of accepting what has happened to them.  After the anger sinks into their being, they are definitely miserable.  All of those around them feel the anger and the tension and don’t enjoy interacting with the person.  These people have no peace with others, with God or themselves.

The ramifications are many if this kind of behavior and attitude continues.  No one knows for sure how much this kind of attitude affects the immune system and the natural healing process of the body.  Studies indicate that generally a good attitude promotes a good immune system leading to quicker healing.  Anger and negativity inhibit the very process that can make them well.

Personally I am fortunate.  Anger does not form the backdrop of my life.  Generally I am at peace.  I am grateful that God has given me this peace and I pray that you and all people with cancer would have it as well.  If you don’t have it, ask the Lord for it through prayer.  Talk with friends who can help you achieve peace.  If we choose anger, we are certainly no fun to be around and oddly enough you are taking steps to shorten your life.

When Everything in You Screams Enough

It will happen.  You will reach a limit physically, emotionally, spiritually, or maybe all three.  Darkness and death seem to be at the door and you think that you can’t take it anymore.  You will forget who the true healer is.  You think that I would rather die than take one more stinking procedure.

To say that most of us have already been there would be an understatement.  Some of us have been there more than once.  Most journeys through cancer aren’t easy.  If it’s not the disease, then it’s the radiation.  If not the radiation then it’s the chemotherapy.  If it’s not the chemo, then it’s the surgery.  Maybe it’s all of them coming together in your life.  Sometimes the grind is hard.

This is a time when you really don’t want to interact with anyone because they will see what a wimp you are or much worse, how shallow a Christian you are.  But I tell you this is the time to call on your support system.  You need to talk this out with others that you can be honest with.  Satan wants you to be isolated and alone during this time so that he can mess with your head.  Also, call on the Lord for His mercy, grace, comfort, and healing during this time.

What I just described is probably the last thing that you want to do.  You don’t have to do it.  It is literally your choice, but I can’t tell you how much my support group ministered to me during the dark times.  My friend, Terry, took me to some on my radiation treatments.  He and his wife came by with dinner and to cut my hair.  My friend, Roy, organized a group of men to cut my grass and to was on call if I needed things done.  My friend, Gary, also took me to radiation treatments and visited my in the hospital.  Countless others offered words of encouragement.

The one thing that I don’t want you to overlook is prayer.  I was prayed over by a group of people on four different occasions.  The one I cherish was organized by my son very early in the process.  Men came from a 100 mile radius to pray for me at my house.  Additionally, a large men’s group at my church prayed for me and the members of a Steven Ministries class that I was attending prayed.  I was prayed over by a group of Tres Dias brother’s and sisters at one of the gatherings.  I have no idea how many individual prayers there were.  I constantly run into who said that they were praying for me.  Don’t push this away, seek the prayers of others.

What is the secret to survival when the darkness starts closing in?  Do what you can to let light shine into your life.  Contact Christian friends and talk with them.  Belong to some kind of group where you can share freely if you are able.  You can find these in your church and in many hospitals.  Seek the Lord and His illuminating light.  Resist the temptation to go this alone.  There are many who want to step into your life with you.

This is Not Your Father’s Chemo

When I tell people that I am taking chemotherapy, they sometimes look at me a little funny thinking that I should be a lot sicker than I am.  I can understand why they would feel that way if they have seen someone go through chemo procedures at some time in the past.  It just is not the case anymore.

My father was wonderful man who passes away about 15 years ago from acute leukemia.  He made a conscious choice not to take chemotherapy because he had seen what the “cure” did to his friends.  He decided that he did not want to live as he saw them live after they had taken chemo.  I never questioned my father’s decision then, nor do I do it now.  At the time and with his age, that seemed to have been the logical choice.

What chemo does and how it works has changed so much in recent years.  Yes, there are chemotherapy drugs that devastate people and make them weak, and vomit, and loose their hair.  Taking the drugs plus the radiation or possible surgery that is often needed can make life brutal for a time.  Unfortunately, these procedures are necessary when cancer has progressed rapidly or has not been caught early.

Fortunately, there is another side.  Many of the chemo cocktails mixed do not have the harsh side effects.  The chemo regimen that I take for MDS leaves my hair and only gives some nausea.  The drugs tend to target a specific problem and do not have the overall body impact of the drugs of the past.  People tend to be able to carry on with their lives rather than be bed-ridden or in a catatonic state.

Are the new drugs perfect with few repercussions?  I don’t think that is a true statement yet, but the drugs keep improving all of the time.  I was reading an article in the March 22 issue of Forbes where scientists are looking at miracle cures.  What they are finding that stimulating the person’s immune system to have the body heal itself is what the scientists are currently thinking.  So far a small percentage of people responded to the immune stimulus drugs, but hope abounds with the new cocktails.

I still believe that the hand of God is in the chemo drugs and the person prescribing them.  I don’t think anything escapes His eyes particularly for those who love Him and know Him.  I still know who the healer is and the power that He wields throughout the universe.  I am grateful that He is allowing scientists to investigate these new areas.

Are You Scared?

I try not to let anyone sit alone in an oncology waiting room.  For whatever reason, the Lord has made me particularly chatty at this time in my life.  The people that I most like to talk to are the young people.  I look for the one’s that seem to be sitting the room in fear, the ones where this is their first visit.  I usually ask them this question, “Are you scared?”

Cancer scares us to death.  When we hear the “C” word we think of nothing but bad things particularly if we have seen a lot of cancer in our family.  Scripture says that perfect love drives out all fear.  That scripture is far easier to say than to implement in our lives.

After we get over the initial shock of hearing that we have cancer, most of us go through stages in dealing with the event.  Elizabeth Kubler-Ross describes the steps that we go through in facing death and they seem to apply here.  Her stages are:

• Denial – We just don’t believe that the condition exists.  Unfortunately this keeps some people from getting their diagnosis confirmed and action to be taken.
• Anger – Nearly everyone that I talk to has been angry at someone or something or God or in many cases themselves.
• Bargaining – This is a stage where we begin to subtly or openly bargain, usually with God, for some kind of healing.
• Depression – When the thought finally sets in that we have cancer and we have to go through the cure without a guaranteed outcome, we get very sad if not depressed.  This lasts a long time for some and not so long for others.
• Acceptance – If we are going to have any chance at being healthy in our journey you have to get to the point of accepting the cancer and your own mortality.  This stage is crucial to attain peace throughout the process.

Maybe you will have all of the stages, maybe few, or perhaps none.  The point is that fear of the unknown that you face is a very real thing that you need to accept it and deal with it.  Facing the truth of what is happening to you moves you towards fully accepting what life now has in store for you.

There are scriptures and promises of God that apply here.  “I will never leave you nor forsake you”, “Your name is written in the palm of My hand”, “Call on Me and I will answer”, and “Come to Me all who are heavy laden and I will give you rest”.  These will come to mind at the oddest times in your journey.  Let Him work with your heart through this.  That’s how the perfect love cases out all fear.

There Has Never Been a Better Time to Have Cancer

When I make this statement that is the title to people, they kind of look at me funny, particularly if they do not have cancer.  Cancer is still a killer and we still run in fear of having it.  We have seen way too many people die, usually in our families.  The thought of having cancer is terrifying, but there is much hope on the horizon.

At the same time medical science continues to progress in knowledge and treatments.  20 years ago, the cancer that I had, multiple myeloma, was a death sentence.  Now the survival rate is over 50%.  My grandmother died of it when I was 12.

I talked with a family in the oncology waiting room whose son had liver cancer.  They talked about an experimental procedure that was working where they planted radio isotopes in his liver where the cancer cells were and the isotopes were killing the cancer.  They talked about another procedure that does the same thing without the radiation.  A deadly killer like liver cancer might be finally submitting to treatment.

There are hundreds of kinds of cancer.  I cannot find a doctor who can give me a number.  The point is that each of the different cancers requires different treatments rather than treating it like one disease.  By separating them out or grouping them, researchers and physicians can focus on specific ones and specialize in treatment.

New drugs keep coming.  Chemotherapy is not chemotherapy any more.  Drugs are very targeted and specialized and the drugs perform miraculous things.  Each patient gets his or her specific combination to target the disease that they have.  Most drugs that I have encountered allow the patient to maintain a fairly high quality of life while they are on them.

There is no question people are still dying from cancer.  We can see them in our life.  But the amount of people living through or living with the disease is steadily increasing.  I see this trend continuing.  It no longer means death.  It probably means that you have to adjust your priorities in life, but it is not a death sentence.  There is life after cancer.  Many of my friends and I can attest to that.

Cancer, Christian Faith and You

I started this blog to chronicle some of my adventures in my journey through cancer and MDS.  I thought that I would try to share what I have learned and talk about how my faith in Jesus Christ has sustained me.  Also, I will probably write about some of the people, my heroes, whom I have encountered along the way.  I am trying to share a joy that I have found in this process, so here goes.

I am a cancer survivor and a born again Christian.  That may offend some and that is unfortunate because I do not apologize for it.  I have found my Christian faith to be comforting in my journey through cancer and now with a disease called MDS.  My journey continues.

I don’t find many people without faith in oncology clinics.  Their faith seems to give them a cheerful and peaceful demeanor that affects the entire room.  The jokes are many and the conversation is truthful.  All people going through various cancer stages seem to be resting on something that they cannot completely explain.  They are content in where they are going and seem to be trying to enjoy the most this day has to offer.

I don’t find this true of the people who do not have faith.  Many without faith seem to have and anger and ugliness that spreads out from them. I have talked with some of them and they are angry at their condition and at any higher power that might allow it to happen.  They have no peace and no joy, but that, of course, is their choice.

Cancer makes us face our mortality.  I wish that I could get people to this point without them having to go through the cancer, radiation, and chemotherapy. I don’t know how to explain it to them so that they would get it.  I am not sure why people need the kind of shock that cancer provides in their life in order for them to get it, but is the way that it is.

I’ll try to post to this blog frequently, possible three times a week.  I hope that you will respond with your own story and comments.  That way we can share the things that you have learned on your journey and all of us will be more enriched by it.