Last year my husband suffered a recurrence of colon cancer. He underwent serious surgery, including an anastomosis. They did not remove the tumor since it was inoperable. The doctor told us the cancer had spread to the liver, the peritoneum, and the lymph nodes. I had to be brave, he said, and there was nothing more he could do. I lost forty pounds from worry.
A friend passed me a copy of Love One Another Magazine with an image of the Merciful Jesus together with instructions on how to recite the chaplet of Divine Mercy. I said it every day, begging Almighty God through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit for a miraculous healing for my husband. I also prayed to Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Blessed John Paul II, and St. Padre Pio for their intercession. That’s when the first miracle happened.
After the third cycle of chemical treatments, the CT scan revealed that the metastasis to the liver had disappeared, that the lymph nodes were not enlarged, and that the abdominal organs had not undergone any noticeable change. True, the tumor was still there, but it had not got bigger. The oncologist was very encouraging. He said everything was progressing well and that I was not to worry. My husband felt much better. He had an appetite and even put on some weight, although the doctor had told him after the operation that he should expect to lose weight.
In February of this year, after more chemical treatments, my husband went for another CT scan. In the meantime I had been reciting the chaplet of Divine Mercy every day as well as praying to Mary, St. Joseph, St. Padre Pio, Blessed John Paul II, and Blessed Chiara Luce Badano. I had read a marvelous article about her life and beatification. I also managed to find a picture of her. She is always with us, especially in times of difficulty.
At first I was not certain prayer could help. After all the doctors had passed their verdict on my husband. Then I read in LOA magazine an article entitled “The More You Trust, the More You Receive.” The Merciful Jesus tells us that the graces of His mercy are “drawn by one vessel only, and that is—trust. The more a soul trusts, the more it will receive” (Diary, 1578). I refused to give up. I would not doubt God’s power; and that’s when the real miracle happened.
Several doctors examined the results of the February CT scan. All of them were amazed. Even the swelling, which had been visible during the first examination, had disappeared. The doctors told me I had cause to rejoice. My husband had a strong organism and had borne the chemotherapy well. The treatment had helped him and stopped the disease. Then I pulled out the image of the Merciful Jesus, showed it to them, and said: “The chemotherapy may have helped, but it is God, for whom nothing is impossible, and also my faith and the prayer, ‘Jesus, I trust in you!’ that stopped the disease.”
I will never stop praying; I want to enjoy my life with my husband for as long as possible.
Danuta