(Comments by Pam Padgett)
In September, 2022, I was diagnosed with an aggressive bladder cancer, and was told that without treatment I would live no more than 2 years.
The treatment recommended by medical professionals was to have chemotherapy 4 times, 2 weeks apart, followed by surgery to remove my bladder.
The thought of chemotherapy did not bother me.
But I was very troubled at the thought of having my bladder removed and needing to deal for the rest of my life with some way for my body to function without a natural bladder.
I asked God if there was any way I might be spared bladder removal.
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About 10 days later I was given a dream. In this dream I was considering not having bladder removal. (When I was given this dream, I had no idea there were any treatment options other than bladder removal.)
The following evening I was reviewing some information (20+ pages) the chemo pharmacist
had given me about the various drugs that would be administered and
their possible side effects and what I might do to minimize side
effects. I wanted to make sure I had everything on hand that might be
needed before the chemo began the following day.
When
I got through the 20 pages of drug information, there was a single sheet of paper remaining which the pharmacist had included. It was a page about bladder cancer from the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
I was casually
reading this when the following jumped out at me.
"An approach using chemotherapy with radiation therapy may provide the same benefits as bladder removal."
I thought this may be an answer to my prayer about being spared bladder removal.
But I didn't know who to talk with about radiation therapy and how to go about changing from chemotherapy with bladder removal to chemotherapy with radiation therapy. So I asked God how to do this.
(James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.)
After praying about this, I kept being reminded of the surgeon/specialist in Denver, so I sent her a note asking about this. Her physician assistant told me why chemo with radiation was not recommended for me. But then, surprisingly, she offered to make a referral for me to talk with a highly-regarded and highly-trained radiation oncologist in Colorado Springs, where I live.
A few days before meeting with this radiation oncologist, I was given a dream from God.
In this dream I was at the radiation doctor's office. There was a man sitting next to me as if there to help and support me.
When I woke from this dream and considered the man helping me in the dream, I was reminded of scriptures I had been given over the previous several weeks telling me that God is with me and will help me.
Hebrews 13:5-6 .... for HE hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
13 For I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.
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When I met with the radiation doctor, she said that I am not an ideal candidate for chemotherapy with radiation therapy and told me why this was the case. But then she said that it is my decision to make. So, if after considering what she had told me I still wanted to have chemotherapy with radiation treatments, she would set it up.
I then spoke with the chemotherapy doctor. He told me that the chemotherapy given with radiation is harder on the body than the chemotherapy I had been receiving as recommended before bladder removal. He said I may need blood transfusions and possibly would need to be hospitalized.
I told him I had been praying about being spared bladder removal when I saw the statement
"An approach using chemotherapy with radiation therapy may provide the same benefits as bladder removal."
When I mentioned praying, he asked if I am a Christian. I told him I am. He then said he is a Christian as well.
He asked if I have peace about changing the treatment plan to chemo with radiation therapy. I told him I did have peace about making this change, and he said he would setup the chemotherapy and coordinate it with the radiation doctor who was setting up the radiation therapy.
Although none of the medical people I spoke with recommended chemotherapy with radiation for my specific case, they agreed to do this.
Treatments began in mid-December, 2022 and were completed in January, 2023.
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Two follow-up tests were scheduled for April, 2023 to see if there were any signs of the cancer remaining after the chemo/radiation treatments.
Before these tests I was given a dream.
Before these tests I was given a dream.
In this dream I was at the urologist's office to have a scope procedure. There were 2 bags with what looked like yard waste in them. The bags were being examined by scientists or doctors who were looking for disease. No disease was found.
When I woke from this dream I asked God what this meant for me and especially about the 2 bags being tested for disease. I was reminded of the 2 upcoming tests.
The first test was done on April 14. It was a scope procedure done by a urologist. He found no evidence of cancer in the bladder, and as he checked the bladder, he said "This looks great!" at least 3 times.
I had a CT scan the following week, and met with the radiation doctor and chemo doctor Monday, April 24, 2023, to discuss the results.
The CT scan showed no evidence of cancer remaining!
Just as in the dream where no disease was found in either of the 2 bags of waste, no disease was found by the 2 tests looking for signs of cancer in my body.
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On April 24, 2023 as I spoke with the radiation doctor. I mentioned that I knew chemo with radiation was not the recommended treatment, but that I had prayed about this and felt this was the way I was led by God.
She said she remembered my having told her this. She went on to say there is not one "right" treatment for everyone and that she could see as we spoke that first day that I understood the pro's and con's of chemo with radiation as she explained these things to me. So she had no concern about setting up this treatment for me.
As I was thinking about her comments later, I recalled the dream I was given by God shortly before meeting with her the first time. In that dream a man was sitting next to me while at her office. It was as if he was helping me and supporting me.
I think an example of this help and support is that this doctor saw that I understood and that she had no concern about setting up this treatment for me. I was obviously led by God in what to say to her and she was given the confirmation needed to move forward with setting up radiation therapy for me.
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All along the way, when I received a Word from God about dealing with this cancer, that Word came to pass.
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One other thing ...
Before going to see these doctors on April 24, I made copies of the writing from our blog about how God has led and helped me in the cancer treatment.
I gave the radiation doctor one of the copies and explained that it told of how God had led me in making the chemo/radiation decision, as well as dreams I had been given. She seemed sincerely happy to get this. She thanked me twice for having given this to her.
Then I met with the chemo doctor who had previously told me he is a Christian.
He asked how I was feeling and I told him I feel very good. He asked if I felt good enough to go back to church now. I explained that I don't attend a church building, but that I communicate with other Christians (sort of like home church) and that I have shared how God has helped me with the cancer and that I would like to give him a copy of a writing about this. I handed him an envelop with this writing.
He immediately opened the envelop and started reading the writing, smiling and nodding his head up and down as he read. Then he stopped and put the writing in his pocket, saying he wanted to take this home and read it that evening.
I also sent a copy of the writing to the urologist.
I am glad to have had this opportunity to share with these doctors how God led and helped me.
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