No. Cancer is not a sweet name. I mean Jesus is the sweetest name I know.
Five days a week I go for radiation treatment. I lay still on my back and slide into a huge round TomoTherapy machine, which looks like a cat scan machine or a giant donut. The techs position me exactly right, according to the small black tattoos they gave me on my hip bones. I am in vogue now. Then they scan to make sure I am correctly placed on the board, check again and then the board slides me in a second time for the treatment. For about five minutes, I hear a sound like a far away pounding electric drill or buzz saw circling me.
The machine is fairly new, and has been calculated to give me radiation darts in exact places, covering the 3/4 inch tumor and four lymph nodes in the groin/pelvic area. This new precision method will hopefully avoid damaging other vital parts in the area like bones, bladder, etc. I am blessed to be able to live in the US and have access to the machine. Although, again, remind me of that blessedness in a few weeks when this total sunburn takes effect. 🙂
The reason I am describing this treatment as well as I can is because of the sweetest name I know. As I lay unmoving on my back for about 20 minutes I sing songs in my head. Old hymn songs. Songs with Jesus’ name in it.
I sing Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. Sweetest name I know. Fills my every longing, keeps me singing as I go.
Jesus, Oh Jesus. Do you know Him today? You can’t turn Him away. Oh, Jesus, Oh Jesus. Without Him how lost I would be.
I even sing Jesus Loves Me, this I know. For the Bible tells me so. Our childhood favorite. Then after a dozen times of TomoTherapy, I looked up songs in my hymn book, songs I could sing to myself because I have about four more weeks of this. I found many.
Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe. Jesus Christ is risen today. And Jesus is all the world to me, my life, my joy, my all.
Jesus, lover of my soul. Jesus, I will never let you go.
What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear. What a privilege to carry, everything to God in prayer.
Tell it to Jesus. Tell it to Jesus. He is a friend that’s well known. You have no other, such a friend or brother. Tell it to Jesus alone.
Now isn’t that a sweet way to spend my time lying flat on my back? Remembering the sweetest name I know from the one who brings peace. Always has. Always will.
You are loved,
kathryn
Related articles
- Cancer: Get Out of the Grave Clothes (kathrynspurgeon.wordpress.com)
- Cancer: Beginning Treatment (kathrynspurgeon.wordpress.com)
- Cancer: The Fear Factor (kathrynspurgeon.wordpress.com)
- TomoTherapy Advanced Radiotherapy (cancercenter.com)
- Age tied to spread of rectal cancer to lymph nodes (eurekalert.org)
7 replies on “Cancer: Sweetest Name I Know”
What a positive way of looking at it when so many others in your situations wouldn’t be. 🙂 Great reminder for the rest of us that we can always find something good in any situation in life. Thank you for this. Be blessed!
Bless you Kathryn, I know these things are tough, but as you mention, Jesus is the sweetest name I know. Who else could have endured the excruciating pain of hanging on the cross for our sins – yours and mine… What a thought!
Keep your mind on Him and He will get you through. And, while you are at it, you can spread the word about how great He really is. Imagine all of those new people that you have never met before all of this happened that need Him. He allows us to be put into situations that we may not enjoy and would rather not have to go through so that we can take that opportunity to talk to others about Him.
I and my church are praying for you and from what I can hear, our prayers are being answered. Even though in our mind, all these treatments that you (and I) are going through really don’t have anything to do with curing our cancers, yet it is intended to bring us into contact with others that still need Christ. If the cancer is helped or cured in the process, that is an added benefit and maybe even a way to tell us that God just isn’t done with us yet and that He likes the job that we are doing down on this earth for Him.
Keep the faith. God bless you,
Mark Davis
Thank you for your kind words! kathryn
I am so thankful you have Jesus to walk beside you through this. I thank God that by the strips of Jesus we were healed. Since Jesus is the same now as he was then, that greater things shall we do than Jesus did, with Jesus nothing is impossible, and when two or more agree about it thing it shall be done, I am expecting total and complete healing. I know through this God will be glorified and you will be blessed. As he restored what was taken from Job, God will restore to you anything you have lost.
I continue to pray for you.
THank you Rhonda!
I want to thank Brian, Nhi, Kendall and Dr Craig for their superb attitude and expert skills helping me in radiation. Never heard a discouraging word from any of them.!