“Why Me”?
When Sharon first discovered she had cancer, she was devastated. She was just 31-year-old and pregnant with her second child. She and her husband had just moved to the United States, and their elder son was only three. Now, it seemed that the thyroid cancer was threatening to destroy all they had.
Though her husband tried his best to support and comfort her, Sharon felt alone and terrified. Often, she would wake up in the middle of the night and weep silently in bed. She often asked: Why me?
Doctors prescribed treatment for the cancer, but it was painful and left Sharon exhausted. Her husband had to juggle work and studies, so she still had to continue looking after the house and the family.
There were days when she felt overwhelmed by helplessness and hopelessness.
“Who Can Help Me?”
Sharon, who had just become a believer in Jesus Christ, turned to God for help. She poured out her troubles to God in prayer and told him how she felt. Her bitterness and fear did not go away immediately. But as she did this, she began to feel an inner sense of peace and comfort replacing her fears and bittterness. She felt
She began to feel an inner sense of peace and comfort replacing her fears and bittterness.
She felt assured that God would help her and take care of her.
assured that God would help her and take care of her.
Friends from their local church stepped in to help, taking turns to look after her two young children so that she could rest. “I was so grateful for the help,” she says in recollection. “And I felt deeply loved by God.”
Eventually, when her husband returned to Singapore for work, Sharon remained in the United States for radiation therapy. She was advised to keep away from people so that the radioactive substances in her body would not harm others. But one friend from church chose to live with her to keep her company. This friend also read the Bible with her every day. Sharon was deeply touched by her kindness.
“I’m Too Young to Die”
Then, a friend who was a doctor told Sharon that patients who received such treatment often developed other forms of cancer 10 years later.
Sharon felt like she had just received a death sentence. The fear of death returned, and kept her anxious and awake at night.
“I was deeply discouraged,” she recalls. “I kept thinking: What would happen to my children and husband if I died in 10 years? It’s too early for me to die.”
Gradually, however, she realised that there was no use fretting over the future. Whenever she felt overwhelmed with worry, she would tell God about her anxieties and cares. As she read the Bible and
“I kept thinking: What would happen to my children and husband if I died in 10 years? It’s too early for me to die.”
prayed, she felt assured that God would take care of her loved ones.
Thankfully, the worst did not come true. Sharon bore a third child, and watched all three children grow up. Her eldest child got married, and she even became a grandmother.
“Cancer, Again?”
In 2017, Sharon was again diagnosed with cancer. By then, she was 62 years old. Fortunately, the endometrial cancer was detected early. She underwent an operation, and life returned to normal.
The following year, however, her feet suddenly became so swollen that she could not walk. The cancer had not only recurred, but had also spread to other parts of her body.
This time, it was stage 4 cancer— and it was growing rapidly.
Sharon was told that she had only 6 months to live. Even chemotherapy could extend her life only by 2 years.
This was devastating news. Sharon had heard about the horrors of chemotherapy and its side effects. It was why many terminal cancer patients opted for palliative care instead. She, too, wanted to forgo treatment. “After all,” she reasoned, “everyone dies.”
But this time, Sharon was no longer afraid of death. She was confident that after she died, she would be in her heavenly home with Jesus.
“Life Is So Unpredictable . . . ”
Eventually, Sharon was persuaded by her family to receive chemotherapy.
But she had many doubts about her decision. Would the treatment be effective? Would she be able to endure the side effects?
As she pondered over how helpless and fragile she felt, Sharon again found courage and strength in God.
“I asked God to have mercy on me and to minimise the side effects of the treatment so that I would suffer less,” she says. “I also asked God for strength to share his comforting words with others, and pray with those in need.”
“The God I believe in is real and living,” she says.
“He loves me very much and will supply my every need.”
Family and friends from church also prayed for Sharon. Amazingly, she experienced minimal side effects from the chemotherapy—she retained her sense of taste or smell, and did not suffer mouth ulcers or nausea. She also slept well.
Some friends made her tonic soup every week. Whenever she had a craving for a particular fruit, someone would get it for her. And when her gums hurt due to the treatment, someone bought her a special toothpaste.
“It showed me that the God I believe in is real and living,”
she says. “He
loves me very much and will supply my every need.”
“.
