I Hate Cancer

Something has been bothering me lately... why do bad things happen to good people? Thankfully I have had church friends who have helped me realize that we all have decaying bodies, but the spirit will live on for an eternity in heaven.

For those of you who don't know, which would be the majority since I have only shared this with a select few, my father was diagnosed with prostrate cancer on June 26th, 2009. What a shock. My father, my best friend- whom nothing bad could happen to- had cancer. I was really mad about this. My pessimistic thoughts were, lets say, prevalent. Through the help of my amazing husband and friends, I have come to realize the positives. It is a blessing that this was caught early. It is a blessing that he has great health insurance that helps him hand select the best surgeons and get different opinions. It is a blessing that his primary care provider was being overly "concerned" and had a prostrate ultrasound and biopsy performed. It is a blessing that my father lives within 20 minutes of a minimally invasive procedure for prostrate removal that many people travel many miles to get to. The blessing list goes on...

I know that although he was diagnosed with cancer, God is with him. A really strange thing happened. My father goes to a church where there are 15,000 members. Each church service has 3,000 people. He was working security at the church on the Sunday following his diagnosis (he was diagnosed on Friday and had not told anyone about it except for immediate family). The pastor at the church is a very popular man (if you can imagine). I have been going to this church for 10 years and have never met the pastor if that gives you a better idea. After the church service, my father was doing security watching the pastor from a far as the people of the church flocked to talk to him. He was dazing off and when he turned around the the pastor was right in front of him with his arm outstretched. The pastor said, "Are you okay". Dad said, "No, as a matter of fact I am not." With people swarming all over the Narthex, they had a 5 minute period with out any interruptions. They talked about his new diagnosis and prayed together. This is really a strange thing because 1) the pastor rarely walks up to other people due to people always walking up to him 2) my father rarely has anything like this wrong with him and he just happened to come up right after his diagnosis 3) no interruptions?? weird.

So on Thursday, August 13th, my father will be having surgery at Shawnee Mission Medical Center. He is having the Da Vinci Robotic Prostatectomy (meaning a robotically assisted complete removal of the prostrate.) A very cool, minimally invasive procedure. Dr. Emmott will be performing the surgery. He could use all the prayers and support he can get! I've set up a new page on the Prostate Cancer Foundation's Honor Gallery website. The Honor Gallery is dedicated to men who have been diagnosed with prostate cancer. This is a place to honor Rodney Annan who has faced the challenge of prostate cancer.


To visit his page click below. The page is a bit bland due to issues uploading photos, so enjoy the pictures on this blog instead! Your comments of support may make it a bit more decorative :c)

http://www.prostatecancerfoundation.org/siteapps/personalpage/ShowPage.aspx?c=gpIVK4OxFjG&b=1552997&sid=hjJWI5OJIkLYI8ORKvH