My twin sister Erin Arahill wrote an incredible blog that explains what my dad has been going through with his battle of cancer. Her blog encapsulates the way I have been feeling. Please give it a read and join us in prayer.
Cancer.
The word no ones dares to say. The word everyone prayers against. The word that brings silence. The word that I hate.
Eighteen years of age is when I first said the word but no one dared me, I hadn’t the time to pray it away from my family, and I was definitely silent. My second older sister, Kelly was twenty-one and diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Cancer. Six months of chemo came with hair loss, yelling out to God, heart wrenching tears, fluorescent lit hospital rooms, and what felt like darkness all around. The chemo was supposed to be light, yet it felt like a poser for hope. The chemo transformed her body and made her look sicker. It was difficult to grasp the chemo was fixing her insides. Alas, hope trickled in towards the end of six months; her numbers were lowering and remission was on the horizon.
Five years later and she is married to the love of her life with a six-week old baby boy. Gold healed my older sister. I paid cancer no mind once again until the beginning of last year. I got a call from my dad who said the doctors thought he had cancer. My heart was in my throat and the familiar feeling of panic instantly crept in. It is annoyingly crazy how forgetful we humans are. Cancer these past five years had become what it had been for me before Kelly’s diagnosis: not my problem. What I would never have guessed though is during Kelly’s remission, cancer started another mission… my dad. Ironically, it was my problem again.
My dad is currently 57 years old and up against stage four Prostate Cancer. It has spread to his bones and chemo is back in the picture. I have never hated anything in the world like I do cancer. Like my dad says about his diagnosis, “your own body is killing you”. Cancer has a mind of its own. When the chemo seems like it’s doing its job right, cancer will take a different route. It will outsmart the poison who’s purposely infiltrating the body to bring a cure. Chemo vs. Cancer and the battle does not care about casualties. My dad says that either the cancer or chemo will kill him.
I am not saying that I hate chemo, please hear me out. It is the best bet my dad has for more time. Although, what I want to convey is that life is fleeting and at the same time, worth fighting for. One thing I am certain for in all this chaotic uncertainty is that God is the God of hope. He IS hope. Chemo is not the true light against the darkness of chemo. Rather it is God, that radiant shine belongs to Him, always. If I only rely on chemo to heal my dad, than I am putting my trust in people. God is the healer of the world and where my trust should lie. His healing looks different from what we would imagine. I am thankful to those who created chemo, but I am even more thankful for the God who has the life of my dad in His hands. God doesn’t intend to hurt us. While I’m hurting, He is hurting as well. I take immense comfort in knowing that God is moving in ways I can’t see.
Fight for your loved ones, family or not, before their lives start dwindling. Please don’t act until something is a problem. God created all of us and all of us have problems. Care for the hurting of the world, your compassion makes life not so problematic for those around you. When you hear that someone has cancer, don’t just give it a second thought, fight for that person by praying. I never thought I would personally know anyone with cancer yet alone a family member, but here I am, writing this blog. There is hope and hurt in the cancer world.
The word we dare say. The word everyone prayers for. The word that brings action. The word that I love.
God.
