Mysterious Ways: The Great Physician
I was nervous about finding the right doctor. Then, mysteriously, a name came to mind…
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printLord, please guide me to the right doctor, I prayed. All day, I’d been browsing websites to find the right physician to perform my colonoscopy. After two previous bouts with cancer, I wanted to put my health in the hands of someone I could trust. But who? Then the name Walter popped into my head.
Walter? My old prep school buddy? It had to have been at least 35 years since we’d last seen or spoken to one another.
Still, I’d never forget the first time I saw him—at a solid six foot five, I mistook him for a teacher! I soon learned, though, that under that big exterior was an even bigger heart. Walter was the most kind, optimistic person I’d ever met. We became fast friends. No matter what the situation, Walter always saw the up side.
We’d gone to Syracuse together—me in pre-law and Walter in pre-med, and after graduation, he was even the best man at my wedding. But as the years passed, we lost touch. I didn’t even know what kind of doctor he’d become, if he even practiced, and where.
But now I couldn’t get his name out of my mind. I typed it into Google. The first result showed “M.D.” next to his name. So he was practicing! I clicked on the link to find out where. Next to his name was his title: Director of Surgery, Rectal Colon, Yale Medical Group. The exact type of doctor I needed—and only 40 miles away!
At Walter’s office, we picked right back up from where we’d left off. “I’m glad you looked me up after all these years,” he said. He still had that same upbeat personality, and he kept me relaxed throughout the scary and awkward testing.
The results came in a couple days later. “Mark, I’m afraid you have colon cancer,” Walter said. “It’s a pretty big mass.”
My stomach clenched. Cancer? Again? I couldn’t speak…but Walter’s calm voice continued. “I will perform your surgery, and depending on the stage, you’ll be looking at an average of six to eight months of chemo. Try not to worry though, okay? You’re going to get through this.”
Walter was right. I did. Several days after the surgery, he called to tell me that chemo wasn’t necessary. The scans came back all clear. “We got it all,” he said. “I’ve never seen that happen with a mass as large as yours. I can’t explain it.”
Well, there was one way to explain it. A crack medical team: my old buddy and the greatest physician of them all.
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Your Comments (10)
Pat Johnson, I'm so sorry to hear of your losses of loved ones, but I am a veterinarian and also a cancer patient, and I can tell you that not all cancers have microscopic spread, and even if they do, many are still cured completely. So yes, there IS such a thing as "getting it all!"
Cancer is not a single disease--there are many types and stages and prognosis varies considerably with those differences. Cancer is no longer all gloom and doom!
I have cured many animals of cancers by surgery alone. There are millions of survivors of cancers, including my aunt and my husband's uncle who are both colon cancer survivors, my aunt's was about 30 years ago with no colostomy. Although I, too, have lost several loved ones to cancers, I know many other people who had various types of cancer years ago and have been fully cured, also including two classmates from veterinary school had cancer back then and are still healthy now, and we graduated in 1986 and a friend I met right after graduation who had cancer more than 10 years prior and is still alive.
I hope you never get cancer, but if you ever do, please don't consider it an instant death sentence--even when cancers aren't cured, many people live with them kept minimal by treatment for many years, and new treatments are booming right now that promise many more cures with less toxicity!
The thing about colonoscopy is if you have one or two polyps show up the first time you do one you should do one every two or three years thereafter - just in case.
My aunt Gloria had colo-rectal cancer. Its now in remission . She happens to live in the Philippines, where the medical facilities are not as modern as the U.S.. I think the chemo, radiation and surgery were part of the cure. I submitted a couple prayer requests on Guidepost. I also think that her own prayers helped her survive and cope with the colostomy and the excess urine flow stemming from atonic bladder as a result of the radiation. Prayers helped her when she was widowed; her husband died of a stroke and learned she has cancer six months later. She is over 75 years old now, but I am awestruck by God's power.
This is a great story, but, please - be aware that there's no such thing as "getting it all". Cancer may manifest itself in one area, but cancer is IN YOUR SYSTEM. That's why you hear of cancer "coming back." The truth is, it never left. I've lost 4 friends to cancer in the last 5 years and they were all given the "all clear" at one point, only to die of cancer in another area 2 or 3 years later. Diet is a huge factor and there are many alternative-type books about this. I wish the author well, but I hoope he understands that lifestyle change is absolutely crucial to conquering cancer.
I had a colonoscopy just last week for the first time, and two polyps were found, both precancerous. I am 73 years old and thought, with perfect digestion, I do not need to do this! However, my physician encouraged me, and I went ahead and am glad I did. I will have to have another one in three years. I am thankful that I overcame my hesitation. Praise God!
March is colorectal cancer awareness month. Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. and it is 90% PREVENTABLE with screening!!! There are often no symptoms until it is at an advanced stage. Beginning at age 50 (or earlier if there is a family history or other high-risk factors) everyone should have a colonoscopy. I'm glad the author had a successful outcome, but don't let his word "scary" keep you from being tested. Yes, it is "awkward," but trust me, having a colonoscopy is much better than major surgery (3 times for me), seemingly endless months of chemotherapy, and a lifetime with a colostomy pouch. I was first diagnosed in 2008, and cancer has returned twice since then. If I can save even one person from going through what I have gone through in the past five years, this message will be worth it. Please talk to your doctor about getting a colonoscopy. It could save your life!!! I thank God every day for the blessings I have received through my cancer experience. I pray that everyone who reads this will help spread the word about screening - for a future free of colon cancer.
I had colon rectal cancer.5 years agothis April Fool Day.They took all of it out.It was melanoma.Thank God.And thans doctors.
My first husband had colon cancer, and had to have the whole bottom part of his colon removed. He lived about 12 more years with a colostomy. The Lord was with us the whole time. It was senile dementia that finally got him. Whenever I hear of anyone having cancer, I pray for the chief caregiver as much as the patient. Believe me.I know what they are going through.
Simple answer. The power of prayer, positive thinking, and the dedication of one man to be the best surgeon he could.
The greatest physician of all being The Lord. Believe in the The Lord and all is possible have faith, ask, seek, knock and you will be answered.
Amen