How to Hold Onto Hope When Doctors Find Cancer

Published by helloredds@gmail.com on 11/04/2025 11/04/2025

How to Hold Onto Hope When Doctors Find Cancer.

“We found cancer.”

The words no one wants to hear jolted me, and I was thankful to be sitting down. The doctor’s expression was grave as she reported that my routine colonoscopy revealed a malignancy in my colon.

After kindly giving me a moment to digest the news, she went on to reassure me that colon cancer has a great cure rate if caught early.

She talked at length about a plan for treatment, and after she covered my questions, sent me home with reams of information on colon cancer and business cards for colorectal surgeons. (I had no idea that was such a specialty.)

The Rest of the Day

The rest of the day passed in a blur.

To begin with, I made the requisite phone calls to family and friends with a sense of detachment—“The doctor found cancer. I’ll be meeting with a surgeon to determine the next course of action.”—almost as though I was reporting on someone else’s news. 

It wasn’t until I went to bed that night that the fearful reality sank in. I have cancer. How far had it advanced? Will I need chemotherapy? Or, will I die? Hardly conducive to sleep.

As I lay there in the dark, heart and mind racing, these long-ago memorized words popped into my mind:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

and lean not on your own understanding;

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And he shall direct your paths.” 

Proverbs 3:5-6

Instantly, my heart quieted. My anxious thoughts quit circling.

My Faith Rallied

In those moments, my faith rallied as I remembered that I didn’t need to have all the answers or figure things out because God was taking care of me.

As I leaned on God, he would direct my paths. Peace blanketed me, and I fell back to sleep. Several more times during that first night, I woke up in a fresh grip of fear.

Each time it happened, I repeated the same Scripture from Proverbs. And each time I was able to relax and sleep. Such is the mighty power of God’s word!

It took a month to get schedules, doctors, and operating rooms lined up, but finally, the day of surgery arrived.

My go-to verse throughout the highs and lows of the waiting was Proverbs 3:5-6.

Peace in the Middle of It All

I can honestly say it was a remarkably peaceful month. Even though I had no assurances about the outcome of my surgery. However, the promise of God that whatever happened, he would direct my path steadied me.

There were moments, certainly, when fear would hold me in its paralyzing grip, but as I applied God’s word, replacing the fearful feelings and uncertainty with God’s truth, I would once again have peace.

This experience reinforced a truth I’ve known for years but frequently forget to practice. God’s word is powerful. His promises are true, and I need to be so familiar with them that I can speak them over my fears and concerns. 

Yes! God Gives Us Hope!

God gave us his word, the Bible, to build our faith, to comfort us, and to get to know him better. Each page is rich with promises—truths about God that we can apply in our daily lives. (Of course, we need to be careful to read Scripture in context because some promises are specific to one individual or group.) 

Every time we read the Bible, we are depositing truth into our hearts and minds to be referenced in times of need.

I’m happy to report that the surgery was successful. We caught the cancer in the very early stages (I’ll never complain about the awful colonoscopy prep process again), and the surgeon was able to remove the tumor completely. I won’t need chemotherapy.

There will be lots of follow-up bloodwork and tests to monitor for a recurrence of the cancer, but as of today, I am wonderfully cancer-free!

Closing Thoughts – How to Hold Onto Hope When Doctors Find Cancer

May I ask you a question?

Are you reading your Bible to get to know your heavenly Father better?

Have you ‘banked’ his promises to withdraw in a time of need?

If so, bravo! You’re following in the footsteps of faithful believers through the ages.

If not, can I challenge you to start today?

About the Author: Nancy Lavo

Nancy loves romance. She loves following the hero and heroine’s journey from their first meeting to their first kiss; from the heart-wrenching moment where everything seems lost to the last, sigh-inducing resolution. And she is a sucker for a happy ending.

After being a devoted romance reader for years, she decided to take up my pen (Literally, she writes her books out longhand in a notebook) and write love stories. Nancy writes primarily for a Christian audience, for women who want upbeat, hope-filled entertainment that doesn’t devalue their beliefs.

Her goal with every light-hearted story is to bring a smile to the reader’s face. Though she writes fiction to entertain, she hopes that readers are reminded that God is always at work in the lives of his children—for their good and his glory.

Connect with Nancy Lavo:

On Instagram – Instagram

On her Website – Nancy Lavo

Through Her Books:

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