May: Brain Cancer Awareness Month
Eight years ago: May 2017
Diagnosis:
Ed has headaches.
(But he has always had migraines; surely they aren’t serious.)
Ed has a brain tumor.
(It is in a safe location for surgery; surely he will recover.)
Ed has brain cancer.
(He is young, hearty, and strong; surely he can fight this.)
Ed has glioblastoma.
(What?)
I open Google.
Definition:
Glioblastoma glee-ow-bla-stow-muh
(The word struggles on my tongue.)
GBM
“Glioblastoma is a malignant brain tumor that invades and destroys healthy tissue.”
Aggressive, fast-growing, fatal
Villain, monster, murderer
“Those with untreated glioblastoma live an average of four months.
With treatment, those with glioblastoma live an average of fifteen months.”
(Lord, have mercy.)
Oh that I had never heard/seen/felt/smelled/tasted this word.
Glioblastoma means no hope.
No hope from Google, no hope from doctors, no hope from science.
Glioblastoma produces loss.
Loss of personality, loss of mobility, loss of vitality.
Glioblastoma brings death.
Death of a father, death of a husband, death of a friend.
I feel desperate, despairing, defeated.
I open God’s Word.
Deconstruction:
“I will not leave you”i
(Promise?)
“I will wipe away all tears” ii
(When?)
“I will destroy the death enemy.”iii
(Even glioblastoma?)
“I came to give abundant life.”iv
(Now?)
Dominion:
Choosing to believe a diagnosis is not final,
words have power,
but the Word prevails.
“O grave, where is your victory?
Death, where is your sting?v
Thanks be to God for victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”vi
(Amen.)
i John 14:18
iiPhilippians 1:22
iii 1 Corinthians 15:25-26
ivJohn 10:10
v1 Corinthians 15:55
vi1 Corinthians 15:57
Thank you! My aunt passed away on Wednesday of a brain tumor. She lived one week shy of four months after her diagnosis. I was not aware that May was Brain Cancer month.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry. Brain tumor are horrible things. May God hold your family close.
DeleteGina
Sadness & sorrow in death but power & victory through our Lord Jesus Christ! Sending up prayer for you, Gina, and for the family above. 💙🫂🙏🏻
ReplyDeleteDear Gina, I've been reading your blog off and on since 2018. I'm so sorry for the loss of Ed and what your family has been through. I wanted to share that I actually work for a Christian brain surgeon now. His name is Dr. Lee Warren, and he wrote a book called I've Seen the End of You. It's about his struggles with faith as he treated patients with GBM and wondered why to pray for them when he already felt that he had already seen the end of them the moment he saw their brain scans. He also lost a son and writes a lot about recovering from trauma and massive things and finding hope again.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.wleewarrenmd.com/
Lauren,
DeleteHow fascinating! I bought Dr. Warren's book soon after it came out and really appreciated it! I could relate to so many of the questions he asked in the book!
Gina
I'm so glad you’ve read it!
Delete