Inspired to Cook Her Husband Back to Health

By Dwan Reed, Spring, Texas

As appeared in

Improve Your Marriage! Find Time for Love! Secrets to a Happier Relationship! The quick-fix self-help books near the register at the grocery store called my name. My marriage wasn’t on the rocks, but after 18 years and two kids, it was in the doldrums.

Thomas and I were both so locked in to our busy work schedules—he as an exploration manager for an oil company, me as a realtor, writer and public speaker—that we scarcely had time for each other.

We went to bed at different times. We never went on dates anymore. I’d joined a writers’ group to become a better writer. Our lives had become routine. Maybe that’s why Thomas had been listless and fatigued lately, falling asleep on the sofa before I’d even served dinner.

He was at the doctor now getting checked out. Too bad there wasn’t a medicine to put the spark back in our relationship.

My cell phone rang and Thomas’s name popped up on the screen. I stepped out of line and picked up. “What did the doctor say?” I asked.

His voice was so shaky I almost didn’t recognize it. “Dwan, I have prostate cancer. It’s aggressive. The doctor wants to begin treatment right away.”

Prostate cancer? Wasn’t it an older man’s disease? Thomas was only 49! Besides, he took care of himself—didn’t smoke, exercised regularly.

“I can’t believe it,” I said, stunned. “I’ll be right home.”

Cancer. Aggressive. Immediate treatment. How could this have happened to the happy, caring, hardworking man I’d met at church and fallen in love with? How had I missed the signs that something was really wrong? All Thomas ever said was that he just felt tired.

I walked into the house and one glance at Thomas’s face confirmed the worst. Fear swept through me. I collapsed in his arms. Lord, Thomas is the best husband and father in the world. You can’t take him from me!

Thomas began his treatment—proton therapy—at MD Anderson, the renowned cancer center in Houston. His cancer was so advanced, the doctor also put him on a powerful hormone.

The combination gave Thomas hot flashes. He tossed and turned all night, exhausted but too uncomfortable to sleep. He took a leave of absence from work. He gained 30 pounds in a matter of weeks due to the hormone therapy.

One night, as we sat awake in bed, I suggested that we pray together. We hadn’t done that in a long time.

“Lord, I’m so scared,” Thomas began. “What if I leave my wife and my kids alone? Will you take care of them?”

I’d never seen Thomas like this. He was terrified too. I held him close. “We’re not going to lose you,” I said. “We’ll do whatever we can.”

But what could I do? I lay awake racking my brain and asking God’s guidance. Finally it came to me. I’d heard there were cancer-fighting diets. What if I began cooking food for Thomas that was both good and healing?

The next afternoon I got online and researched cancer-fighting therapies and diets. “Take a look at this,” I said to Thomas. He got up from the couch and sat down beside me.

We found a nutritionist who specialized in diet plans for men with prostate cancer. Thomas was interested. The nutritionist’s patients had remarkable recoveries. “It’s too bad she’s based in Atlanta,” Thomas said.

“We’ll make the trip,” I said.

We did. “No meat, no sugar, no white flour,” the nutritionist recommended. Thomas should avoid carbohydrates and lower his cholesterol. She emphasized vegetables and raw food.