The Gift of Cancer

A Hope for the Helpers Blog
By Kep Crabb

On September 8th, 2020, our lives were changed when my wife was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer.  She was given a 20% chance of surviving beyond 5 years, since many of the new treatments had no long-term data to impact those statistics.  

Talk about shattered dreams!  I didn’t realize, at that time, how much our lives would change from that point on.  I remember getting the news from our surgeon while sitting in the waiting room.  I knew something wasn’t right since I got that call 45 minutes after the surgery began.  The surgeon said that her tumor has metastasized to the lining of the lung, which now makes it stage 4.  After many tears and some hard conversations with God, I realized He allowed this for a reason.  My mind went to Psalm 100:5 “The LORD is good! There is no end to His faithful love.  We can trust Him forever and ever.”  What does it mean when we hear that God is always doing us good – no matter what is happening?

It’s been almost 4 years now since that day in the hospital when our lives were turned upside down.  My wife has been on the brink of death at least twice since then and as of late the scans look good.  

What happened to us during these past 4 years has been simply supernatural.  Please don’t hear me downplaying the very real challenges of dealing with this horrific disease by the title I gave this post.  This experience has been hard, and I have seen what my wife has been through as she has battled and  endured very real hardships during this experience.  BUT it has brought us together as we have grown in our faith and love for Christ and our love for each other.

The Bible talks about the narrow road (which is hard) that leads to LIFE!  Up to this point in my life things have been easy, except for my own immature choices.  The diagnosis of cancer has put everything into a new perspective for us.  I realize how short our time is here.  And putting Jesus on display to those around us makes all the difference as we relate.  Cancer has been a gift for us (not easy), but a gift that has deepened our faith and our love for each other and for Him.  The BEST is YET TO COME!!!