Kathy Kelly

The day we flew into Tulsa from Mississippi to be evaluated at Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA), our daughter was having surgery back home. Our friends and family were at home. The cancer center in Tupelo is only 10 minutes from my home. It's easy to get to. It was extremely difficult for us to board that plane and make the trip here. But it was like God was giving us an open door and saying, "Are you going to take that step of faith and walk through?" We walked through.

I worked as a graphic designer for more than 30 years for a power equipment company, but in the fall of 2007 I wasn't feeling well, following my daughter's near-fatal automobile accident. I just couldn't put my finger on the cause.

I was really tired. I thought it was just the stress of the accident, with the long hospitalization, surgeries, rehab. But when even fun activities like football games at Mississippi State and singing in the Christmas Festival at church resulted in greater fatigue and some chest pains, I decided I'd better see the doctor.

Preliminary treatment for indigestion and acid reflux didn't completely solve the problem, so the doctor next ordered an ultrasound. The test revealed masses on a swollen liver. I knew immediately it was cancer, and I was overwhelmed.

The next few days were a whirlwind of tests, new discoveries and action. A CAT scan confirmed my initial premonition, but showed the cancer on the liver was a secondary cancer. An upper endoscopy two days later exposed a mass in the esophagus as the primary cancer. Four days after that -- just one week following the ultrasound -- I started chemotherapy.

For things to move that quickly in my home town was practically unheard of. We knew God was at work, and we were grateful.

But three rounds of chemotherapy did little to halt the cancer's growth. My oncologist wanted to switch chemos, but I had been so ill throughout treatment, I just wasn't sure. I didn't want to give up, but both my husband Bob and I wondered if there weren't something else they should do. We sought God, figuring of the three of us, He was the One with the answers.

A few days later, on a Sunday, a woman Bob knew but had never met called him. She said she'd been unable to sleep, so had turned on the television and seen a commercial for a facility called CTCA in Tulsa. She gave Bob the number and told him to call. He said he would, but figured no one would be there on Sunday afternoon. A little later the lady called back and said she'd called CTCA and spoken to an oncology information specialist who was incredibly knowledgeable, and Bob should call now. He did, and after 30 minutes, hung up amazed. The CTCA employee was not only knowledgeable, she prayed with him. Three days later, Bob and I received a call that everything was ready for us to fly to Tulsa for a week of tests and evaluation. We were overjoyed and could scarcely comprehend all that was happening.

We couldn't believe, again, how quickly God had caused everything to fall into place. We'd asked for His leadership, and now, even though it was hard to leave home, we had to follow God. We had questions, doubts. But, when CTCA picked us up at the airport, I had a total sense of His leading and presence all over again. This was where we were supposed to be.

At CTCA, following tests, my medical oncologist ordered aggressive chemotherapy -- a series of two-week rounds of daily treatment, with a week to two weeks of recovery in between each round. I wondered if I could handle this. So Bob and I prayed that God would give me the strength. He did.

That was in May 2008. Today, I'm still on the same regime, but my cancer continues to decline, and my tumor markers are down. I arrived at CTCA in a wheelchair, and now, I'm completely ambulatory and better able to handle my treatment. Recently, I gave an inspirational address at CTCA's annual Celebrate Life event, honoring five-year survivors.

In the past, I've had a tendency to give God my burdens and then pick them back up, but through this cancer journey, I've learned to totally trust Him and simply obey what He tells me to do. I lost my job and insurance this past February, and again wondered what we'd do. God not only made it possible, through Bob's employer, for him to come with me for every treatment, but, his company recently began providing insurance, and they picked me up, since losing my insurance occurred through no fault of my own. God has just supplied all our need.

Not only that, but He's using me to reach out to others through this cancer in many ways, like speaking at Celebrate Life or writing little devotionals in our Internet CarePages^sm. Through all this, I've not only realized how precious each day of life is, I'm also convinced God has a purpose in all He allows ... if we'll only trust Him, take that step of faith and get out of the boat.

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