An Ever-Present Help

At a recent doctor’s appointment my oncologist asked me a question I wasn’t expecting.

“How would you like to go off the medication? All your exams look good. Your mammograms look good.”

After taking a moment to let her words to sink in, all I could think to say was, “Really?”

“Yes,” she said with a smile. “It’s time we took you off the medication. Congratulations.”

I exhaled and wanted to cry. I’d been on oral medication to treat my estrogen-fueled breast cancer for seven years. Years in which I kept asking myself how it could happen to me. I’d exercised regularly, paid attention to my diet, only enjoyed an occasional cocktail, and didn’t smoke. Yet, I’d been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Of course, I knew that other people got breast cancer too for unknown reasons, but I was the only one who had my breast cancer. The moment I was diagnosed I felt more alone than I ever had. But soon enough, God reminded me that I was not alone.

My mother, who was also a cancer patient at the time, offered me regular reassurances that I would be okay, as did my sister. My husband held me at night as I cried into my pillow. The pastor of my church, Bible study group, book club friends, sorority sisters, and GBS NCNW sisters all prayed for me. Get well cards filled my mailbox.

Psalm 46:1 tells us that God is our refuge, strength, and an ever-present help in times of

trouble.

I had prayed to God for weeks before my MRI/biopsy, pleading with Him not to let me have cancer. He did not answer my prayer the way I wanted Him to, but I knew that He was listening to me. He protected and cared for me. He surrounded me with an exceptional medical team, loving family, great friends, and a community of breast cancer awareness advocates, who saw me through the crisis.

I am grateful.

Lisa Braxton-Reid is immediate past president of GBS NCNW