Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Catholic News

Home

Home
Catholic
Religion News
What does Christ have to do with cancer? One woman’s path to peace

What does Christ have to do with cancer? One woman’s path to peace

Last updated on: November 21, 2015 at 11:02 pm by CNA Daily News

What does Christ have to do with cancer? One woman’s path to peace 2015-11-21T23:02:00+00:00 CNA Daily News

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Los Angeles, Calif., Nov 21, 2015 / 04:02 pm (CNA).- Heather King never cared much for doctors.

It's an attitude she partly inherited from her mother, “who classified ginger ale as a medicine, considered Novocain a snobbish extravagance” and somehow managed to avoid a visit to the doctor’s office for almost 30 years.

After years of relatively good health despite a 25-year stint as a functioning alcoholic, King had always taken her physical health somewhat for granted. She viewed her body as a “dependable tractor” that simply required exercise and a balanced diet to function, and considered nutritionists, chiropractors, acupuncturists and their ilk “to be a bunch of overpaid quacks.”

So when she dutifully showed up to Mercy General Hospital for her yearly mammogram, squeezing the appointment in on a Friday after several other errands, she shook with fear when the technician came back from the lab asking for a second picture of her left breast.

“Immediately right then I just thought 'Cancer! Cancer! Cancer!'” King told CNA.

Although she'd have to wait two weeks for the final word, King immediately made her way down to the chapel in the Catholic hospital after her appointment. A devout convert after years of drinking and promiscuity, King attempted to piece together a prayer amid her anxiety.

“I'm pretty sure I really heard Him that afternoon because after a while, there in that sterile chapel, I experienced a moment of peace such as I never had known before and never have quite known since,”
King recalls in her new memoir, “Stripped: at the intersection of cancer, culture, and Christ.”

At that moment, she had a deep sense that whatever happened to her, even if it was death, Christ would be with her.

That moment of peace and surrender to Christ was what she clung to in the subsequent moments of fear and panic – the actual diagnosis, deciding what further treatment she would accept, a struggling marriage that further crumbled under the stress.

Throughout her immersion in the world of the oncology ward, King was struck by what she saw as a very militant response to cancer from the medical world and the culture at large.

“What I object to is the implication that when you get a cancer diagnosis, right away you're supposed to put on your fatigues and pick up your gun and do battle with it,” she said.

“And that's the word we use, a 'battle' with cancer, and it’s always in obituaries, it's odd.”

Despite her tumor's small size – and her cancer's stage one, grade one diagnosis – a mastectomy, chemotherapy, and radiation were all recommended to her as courses of treatment, as well as five subsequent years of a heavy-hitting estrogen medicine.

But after doing a lot of research and soul-searching, King opted to forgo most of the traditional treatments. She had the tumor removed and spent not even one night in the hospital, returning to her normal life the next day.

It's not because she had a death wish, King insists. It's not because she was expecting some radical, miraculous healing from God. It's not because she distrusts doctors and the medical field.

Rather, she said, it was about how she wanted to live and offer the rest of her life, and death to God.

“It's not really a book about cancer as much as it’s a book about what master do I really want to serve?”
she said.

“My point is I want to surrender in a way, and that doesn't mean lying over and playing dead, it doesn't mean being a doormat, it doesn't mean having a sublimated death wish,” she said. “It means fighting the battle that St. Paul fought when he says 'I have stayed the course, I have run the race.'”

That race, she said, is being able to love life without clinging to it through extreme medical measures out of fear. It means coming to some sort of peace with the ultimate mystery of life, with the paradox that good people suffer and die, with “the deepest questions of human existence.” It means not being afraid to die out of the fear that you haven't fully lived.

For King, it meant resting in the peace that she had “ordered her life to true North.”

Earlier in life, King was looking for answers and thought they could be found in the world of law. As a functioning alcoholic, she made it through law school, passed the bar, and went on to a high-paying but ultimately unfulfilling job as a lawyer.

She'd recently kicked her salary and benefits to the curb in order to pursue the life she felt God was truly calling her to – a quiet life centered around the sacraments, silence, and plenty of time devoted to the vocation of writing. In a way, she'd already surrendered much of her worldly security to God.

The fact that she had the presence of mind to call upon faith during the diagnosis, and the tumultuous aftermath, came as somewhat of a surprise to King herself.

“I always thought if this happened, I'd be so scared that I wouldn't bring my faith to it,” King said.

“But there's always an element of surprise, like the woman at the well who runs back to the town yelling 'People, people! I think I've met him! I've met the Messiah.'”

It's been 15 years since King's original diagnosis, and she's still doing well.

“I had a mammogram for the first time in a long time, it came back normal, so everything's been fine,” she said.

King said her advice to anyone facing a new cancer diagnosis would be to not be afraid to listen to their own bodies, hearts and souls when it comes to making the big decisions, despite outside pressure from family, friends or even doctors.

Having faith in something bigger than yourself, even if it's simply in the power of love, is also invaluable when facing something so drastic, she said.

“The word accompany and the word companion come from the Latin 'com panis,' or 'with bread'” King said. “And if you’re already a follower of Christ, this bread, he accompanies you, he walks with you. You're not alone.”

Previous Post

November 21, 2015

Cardinal Sarah on new book: I want to help people rediscover God

Next Post

November 22, 2015 Priests aren't mushrooms: Pope Francis' reflection on priestly ministry, formation

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Americas Asia - Pacific Europe Middle East - Africa Uncategorized US Vatican

Select a Month November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What was Moses' father's name?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Abiathar Arron Apollos Amram