Jim Wise

Some people would call me a traveling man, because I've lived in so many states through my job with Northwest Airlines. During my 28-year career in customer service, my family and I have lived in California, Arizona, Texas, Minnesota, Hawaii and Florida. Now, I'm retired; my boys are grown; I have two grandsons; my wife and I are feeling pretty settled here in Florida; and I'm trying to figure out what God wants me to do next.

A number of years ago, due to some severe financial reversals, I felt like my world was collapsing. My wife and I took heavy pay cuts on our jobs, lost a business we started, and with all that, lost our homes and the life we'd known to that point. To say I was stressed would be an understatement.

Although I'd given my life to Christ a number of years earlier, I hadn't grown in my faith or the relationship. At that time, however, the Lord led my wife and me to a church that has made an incredible difference in our lives over the years. We've grown in our relationship to the Lord and in our faith and developed really good friends.

Then, in June 2008, I went in for a physical, due to some urinary problems I was having, and learned that not only was my prostate enlarged, but it was cancerous. I'm a fun-loving guy, but that diagnosis left me depressed and stunned.

Two days later, I was at work. People who knew me could tell something was wrong, but I hadn't quite gotten my mind around a cancer diagnosis enough to let anyone else in on it. I was still in shock. Due to some minor maintenance issues on a flight, I had to work feverishly with some German passengers to get them rebooked, so they could make it into Frankfurt, Germany in time for a wedding. It was a very tight timeline. One was the pastor who would perform the wedding, and the other was a youth pastor.

I was successful. They were extremely grateful. The pastor thanked me and said, "May God bless you." I was stunned, how could he know? As they were walking away, I told them I needed that now more than ever. The men stopped and came back to me. The pastor asked what was going on, and I just blurted out my diagnosis. Here, I couldn't tell my friends at work, yet I could lay this burden at the feet of complete strangers!

The pastor looked at his companion and told me that on the aircraft, he had commented he felt there was some reason this delay was happening and threatening their return home; he just didn't know what it was. "Now," he said, "I do! We were meant to be here for you!"

He asked me if they could pray for me. I reached out my hands; the pastor, who was a big man, reached out his hands; they were enormous, firm, yet gentle. The other man grasped my other hand. The pastor began to pray the most fervent prayer I have ever heard, while the second man prayed softly in German. Without skipping a beat, the second man took over in English, and the pastor prayed softly in German. Then, they switched again ... both men praying this wonderfully powerful prayer of healing for me. I began to break into a cold sweat; I was burning up. Even though the air conditioning was working, I was dripping sweat.

When they were finished, I thanked them profusely and explained how sweaty I had become. The pastor, in his thick German accent, said explosively, "Yah, dot is de fire of GOTT cleansing you body!" I could only smile, and thank them again. As these two men walked away, I realized I was totally calm and feeling this wonderfully amazing glow of peace. Where before I had felt chaos and confusion, now there was a very tranquil feeling of assurance that everything was going to be fine. I can't explain it any better than that; I have never felt anything so completely positive, so warm and reassuring. It was truly wonderful. I went through the rest of my day very calm, relaxed, even elated. I had a smile on my face again.

A few days later some very close friends from a small group at my church had gotten together to hold a prayer group for me. When I related this story to them, one of my friends said, "Do you realize that God loves you so much He made all of those people late, so he could have those two pastors minister to you?"

Wow, I had never thought about it like that. There are many things I still don't understand, but I do know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the Holy Spirit was alive in me on that day. I felt Him there, inside of me, more powerfully and more assuredly than I have ever felt anything before in my life. I didn't know or understand what it was at the time, but I certainly do now. And His presence has changed me, and changed my life, in ways I could never even begin to explain.

After that, my wife and I both began researching prostate cancer and treatment on the Internet. We finally decided to call Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA). My wife's mother had received wonderful care and treatment at CTCA in Zion, Illinois 12 years earlier for breast cancer.

Being only 56 years old, I was concerned about both incontinence and impotence as side effects of treatment and was leaning toward High-Dose Rate (HDR) Brachytherapy, which seemed to address both.

After several conversations with a CTCA Oncology Information Specialist, my questions were all answered, the paperwork was done, and I had an appointment. My wife and I flew to CTCA in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It turned out I was a good candidate for HDR Brachytherapy, and so on July 22, I started treatment, which consisted of one week of Brachytherapy, followed by four weeks of TomoTherapy®. In November, when I returned for tests, my PSA was in the normal range, and my radiation oncologist, Dr. James Flynn, referred to me as a cancer survivor.

My care at CTCA has been one of the most outstanding experiences I've ever encountered. As part of my treatment, I took advantage of the naturopathic and nutrition therapies and learned a lot. I also went to Pastoral Care's class on Reflections on Psalm 23 for People with Cancer. That's a class I'm going to teach at my church. I personally feel one of the primary reasons CTCA is so successful is that there's not only hope there, but hope is there because God is there. There is a sense of His presence throughout the hospital.

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