“Unbelievable” is one of the podcasts that I listen to regularly. I almost didn’t listen to this episode. When I saw the title “Where is God in a terminal cancer diagnosis?” my first thought was that I didn’t want to hear it. In the end, I did listen and I’m glad I did.
“Unbelievable” is a podcast series that offers theological discussions in a pro and con format. Many episodes include debates and discussions between opposing viewpoints. If you’re interested in Christianity and whether it is a true and accurate representation of God, it’s a good podcast.
This episode was a bit different. Steve Legg and Allan Finnegan are both Christian comedians and both are living with terminal cancer diagnoses. In the podcast, both men discuss their stories and how they are coping with a disease that will probably soon end their lives.
While my diagnosis is thankfully much better, I can empathize with a lot of what they say. You never quite forget that you have cancer. It’s always in the back of my mind, but I’ve come to the conclusion that, although I still pray daily for healing and that my cancer will never return, it’s important to be thankful for every day that I have. It’s much better to go through life being grateful than afraid.
As Steve and Allan said, I’ve also developed an attitude of not procrastinating… at least not much. For them, it’s a matter of not having much time left, but for me it’s also financial. If my cancer does return, I may not be able to afford to do many of the things that I want or need to do now. It’s a good idea to handle things while I still have a paycheck.
They also address how they’d like people to interact with them. I agree on a lot of these points as well. If you're a friend or family member of a cancer patient, don’t continually ask about the disease. It’s okay to ask, but if they imply that they don’t want to talk about it, don’t be nosy.
Don’t tell cancer patients about everyone that you know who has cancer, especially if the story doesn’t have a happy ending. I remember early in my journey when a well-meaning person came up to me and told me how his brother had prostate cancer years ago and his PSA levels had just started rising again. That was something that I did not need to hear at the moment and I think my face showed it.
Don’t tell them about miracle cures that you saw on the internet. If miracle cures worked, they would be in widespread use. I don’t believe that Big Pharma is covering up cures so that they can make money on conventional treatments. Can you imagine how much a cure for cancer would be worth?
Likewise, don’t attribute cancer to whether someone got the COVID (or any other) vaccine or not. Even if this was true (and the data does not support such a link), it’s a crass and tone-deaf thing to say. Some cancers are related to lifestyle choices, but my research indicates that prostate cancer is largely a matter of genetics.
At any rate, I recommend the podcast, both this particular episode and the series more generally. You can find the episode at the links below or on streaming services such as Spotify.
Podcast:
https://pod.link/267142101/episode/41015429237e8d02991879c3493bbb76
YouTube:
Note: If you’re wondering what the title of this piece means, it’s a reference to a web series by Jerry Seinfeld called “Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee.”
From My Prostate Cancer Journey. Click the link for previous installments.
No comments:
Post a Comment