Conquering cancer and heart failure http://blogs.suntimes.com/banks/ ...with Jesus, doctors and common sense en Copyright 2008 Sun, 29 Jun 2008 06:26:27 -0600 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=3.21 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 40 years of marriage to my high school sweetheart God bless you.
Today (Monday, June 30), my wife, Joyce, and I celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary.
Those are shouting numbers that remind me how blessed I am to find a woman to put up with me that long.
They don't make too many marriages like ours anymore. So ours to truly extraordinary.
Right now, it's 6:28 a.m. Sunday (June 29) as I write this entry. Some 20 feet in back of me, Joyce, my beautiful, adorable, tender and sweet Kansas City honeybabysugarpie, is power-walking on our family-room treadmill as I await my turn in our fight against fat. Around 10 a.m., we leave for Mt. Pisgah Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago, where Pastor Joseph Jackson has invited me to preach and I shall preach about "The Inseparable Love of God."
While I first thank God for blessing me to have Joyce put up with me as my wife for 40 years, after she had been my girlfriend for seven, I second thank God for blessing me to be alive for this day.
Just three months ago, when I was diagnosed with end-staged congestive heart failure (requiring a heart transplant), brain cancer and prostate cancer, and my heart was so weak I could not walk 10 steps, eat a meal or wash my face without stopping to catch my breath, I was scared to death for my life.
Yes, that's right.
Me, Lacy J. Banks, the fiery preacher, the Mr. Tough Guy and brave sportswriter for the Chicago Sun-Times for 36 years--I was scared. I even doubted whether I could outlive this triple dose of doom to see today.
But by the healing grace and mercy of Almighty God, the prayers of His saints, the care of competent doctors like Dr. Allen Anderson, Dr. Valluvan Jeevanandam, Dr. Glenn Gerber, Dr. Brian Moran, Dr. Jim Flaherty and, now, Dr. John Alverdy, the love and care, among others, of my wife, first and foremost, and the application of my faith and common sense, I am a very impressive "healing in progress."
Now, here you are, my loyal readers and faithful prayer partners--you have accepted my invitation, through this blog, to watch God work. Through your hundreds of emailed comments and through your more than 50,000 silents hits on my blog, making it one of the tops in this distinguished big-city newspaper, you let me know that there are still a lot of caring and sharing people in the world.
God bless you.
Before I give you a more detailed update on my health situation, I want to hand out a round of thanks.

]]> http://blogs.suntimes.com/banks/2008/06/40_years_of_marriage_to_my_hig.html http://blogs.suntimes.com/banks/2008/06/40_years_of_marriage_to_my_hig.html Fighting cancer and heart failure Sun, 29 Jun 2008 06:26:27 -0600 I'm fighting to live while others are fighting to die God bless you.
Few things teach us the priceless value of life better than sickness and death.
Ever since doctors diagnosed me three months ago with suffering from life-threatening brain cancer, prostate cancer and end-stage congestive heart failure, I have been greatly inspired to appreciate the fact I'm still alive and being healed while so many others are playing life cheap with murder and suicide.
It reminds me of that wise saying that, in substance, says it's a shame that youth is wasted on young people.
Life is good.
Love is good.
Why aren't young people loving more so that they can live longer and better?
Indeed, we older peopl were equally guilty in our youth. Misguided by poverty, ignorance, immaturity, gangs, guns, substance abuse or hopelessness, we also ignorantly wasted many opportunities and made bad decisions that set us back.
If we had known then what we know now ,and exercised that wisdom responsibly, we would have had more money, better health, better security and more to look forward to today.
So when I view my solo suffering against the backdrop of our society's seething savagery, it moves me to echo those ol' top-hit Marvin Gaye lyrics: "What's goin' on?....Makes me wanna holler....throw up my hands."

]]> http://blogs.suntimes.com/banks/2008/06/im_fighting_to_live_while_othe.html http://blogs.suntimes.com/banks/2008/06/im_fighting_to_live_while_othe.html Fighting cancer and heart failure Tue, 24 Jun 2008 22:42:31 -0600 This blog reaches a proud milestone God Bless you.
A milestone was reached today when Monica Giles and Fannie Oliver co-posted the 200th comment for this blogs.

It reads as follows:

"God bless you.
Helloooooooo Rev. Banks!

Greetings from Fannie Oliver and myself.
Loving and missing you! GOD IS GOOD AND STILL IN CHARGE!
Tell Joyce we said hello, and we will be praying for you and your family.

Love,
Monica"
Banks' response: Congratulations for posting the 200th comment on this blog. Also, thanks for your prayers and best wishes.

Some four weeks ago, My 100th comment came from a reader named John: It read:

LACY,

i HAVE ALWAYS ENJOYED YOUR WRITING AND MY WIFE AND I ARE BOTH ACTIVE PARTIPANTS AT THE CANCER WELLNESS
CENTER IN NORTHBROOK.IN OUR SPIRITUAL SUPPORT GROUP WE ARE VIEWING OPRAH'S INTERVIEW WITH ECKHARDT TOLLE AND READING HIS NEW BOOK..A NEW EARTH. PERSONALLY I FIND IT EXTREMELY HELPFUL TO ME. I WISH
YOU WELL."

My very first entry came from my youngest daughter Natasha. She submitted it as soon as she heard I was blogging and really didn't know she woud be the first. Here was her entry:

"I am very excited about the blog. This will be groundbreaking. I love you and await for God's healing."

]]> http://blogs.suntimes.com/banks/2008/06/milestone_reached_with_this_bl.html http://blogs.suntimes.com/banks/2008/06/milestone_reached_with_this_bl.html Fighting cancer and heart failure Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:33:58 -0600 Attended NBA Finals just in case God bless you.
Attending Game 5 of the NBA Finals Sunday night in Los Angeles was a relative paradise because it was like old times without having to work and sweat deadlines and it was enjoyed, for the first time, with my wife Joyce as we were special guests of the NBA and the Lakers, who won 103-98 and now trail 3-2 in the best-of-seven series which returns to Boston for sixth and, if necessary, seventh game.
My wife accompanied me for two reasons. First, she's very sensitive about my health issues and wanted to be by my side, instead of 1,735 miles away, in case something went wrong. Second, she loves California, especially Los Angeles, where we have enjoyed some of our best vacations..
We got the star treatment that started with fifth-row seats behind courtside. This enabled my wife to gleefully see the stellar likes of Jack Nicholson, Denzel Washington, Sean (formerly alias "Puff Daddy") Combs, Damon Wayans and others. But the real thrills came from my fellow veteran journalists like John Jackson, Sam Smith, Michael Wilbon, Bill Walton, David Aldridge, Stephen A. Smith, Howard Beck, Marc Spears, Ailene Voisin, Helene Elliott, Ric Bucher, Brad Townsend and others who greeted me with smiling hugs as I introduced them to my wife.
"It's nice to see people still remember a dinosaur like me," I said.
"You're no dinosaur," Aldridge said to my ego's delight. "You're an icon."
In April, when doctors gave me the dire diagnosis that I had brain cancer, prostate cancer and end-stage congestive heart failure, I started making a list of things I definitely wanted to do with my wife just in case I didn't survive the summer. They included a trip to one NBA Finals, which I had covered exclusively for some 27 years for the Sun-Times, a trip back home to Kansas City so that I could take my wife to see her aging mother, and the celebration of our 40th wedding anniversary, which we already had planned last year to do in Hawaii.
"Oh don't worry," NBA veteran chief publicist Brian McIntyre told me. "You'll be seeing many more NBA Finals and we can always find you a ticket."
I am a pioneer in the diversity aspect of NBA newspaper coverage. I've not only covered the NBA for 40 years as an Ebony magazine sports editor and as a Sun-Times reporter, but the late Larry Whiteside, David Dupree and I were to the first black beat writers to cover the NBA for major American newspapers.
I also integrated the news staffs of the Kansas City Star, the Indianapolis Star and the Indianapolis News before the become the first black to work fulltime for the Sun-Times as a sports columnist and reporter. Consequently, the National Association of Black Journalists have chosen to honor me in July by presently to me its first Larry Whiteside Award when it holds its annual convention here in Chicago.


]]> http://blogs.suntimes.com/banks/2008/06/attended_nba_finals_just_in_ca.html http://blogs.suntimes.com/banks/2008/06/attended_nba_finals_just_in_ca.html Fighting cancer and heart failure Mon, 16 Jun 2008 06:38:46 -0600 A healing for variety of reasons God bless you.
I thank God for my healing in progress from the life-threatening brain cancer, end-stage congestive heart failure and prostate cancer.
But I want to make it clear that I don't want God healing me for nothing. No. First, I intend to pay Him back. Yes, I don't want to just get and not give. I will pay God back by praying, preaching and praising better than I ever have.
Actually, I'm already doing those things while I'm being healed. What better way for me to show my thanks than to promote God and His Kingdom by urging people to seek Him while He can be found and to call upon Him while He is near and give Him His deserved glory.
Second, I don't want Him to heal me for doing nothing, either. Understand? I don't want to be heal just to sit and chill and selfishly and privately wallow in the thrills and frills of the healing. No, I want to be healed to get back out and enjoy life to the fullest and help make life better for others.
I get this idea from a good friend, Stan Ketcik. It was so excellent that I decided to share it with the rest of you and I want each of you to share back with the rest of us.
There is healing power in setting future goals and wishes for yourself. They fuel the drive to survive and thrive.
Here was Stan's comment:

Dear Lacy,
Your journey of healing is inspirational!!! I have a suggestion. I think you should make a list
of interesting things that you would like to do for the next 15 to 20 years. The list would
consist of things you would like to do, places you would like to see, and goals that you woul
like to accomplish. I think that a list like that will help you on the road to recovery, and give you
a lot of specific things to look forward to on your road to healing. I look forward to seeing you
cover sports again, and reading your stories for many years to come. Have a phenomenal
day!!!
Stan Ketcik
************************

Banks' response: Great idea, Stan! I love you mannnn! Great idea! Why didn't I think of that before? That kind of mindset fuels the survival instinct. Incentives. Visions. Aspirations. Hope. Yes, Stan, yes. I feel good about this. Here are some of my key plans and wishes for the future:

1. Get totalIy healed of my cancers and bad heart so that I can see all my doctors
shake their heads, grin and say, "Well I'll be doggone!"
2. Give (along with my wife) our daughters Noelle and Natasha away in marriage

]]> http://blogs.suntimes.com/banks/2008/06/a_healing_for_variety_of_reaso.html http://blogs.suntimes.com/banks/2008/06/a_healing_for_variety_of_reaso.html Fighting cancer and heart failure Wed, 11 Jun 2008 11:10:24 -0600 Healing train is picking up steam God bless you.
Early Sunday morning, I called my baby sister in Grand Rapids, Mich., Veruynca Williams, to get additional information about our departed oldest sibling, Mrs. Maude Lee Burrell, who lost her battle with end-stage congestive heart failure in 2001.
I got more than the information I sought. I got fervent supplication as she led me in a prayer so powerful that I wouldn't be surprised if it shook both the ceiling of hell and the basement of heaven. It certainly filled my soul with joy and boosted my faith to continue my successful healing from brain cancer, end-staged congestive heart failure and prostate cancer.
Roughly four months before Maude Lee died, I had undergone a triple-bypass at the University of Chicago Hospital to address a 50 percent blockage of my main left artery. I did that to hopefully position me to avoid the end-stage congestive heart failure that, with the aid of an infection, finally killed Maude Lee three months after she had spent six futile months at the Cleveland Clinic trying to qualify for a heart transplant.
Maude Lee was 65 when she died three months before her 66th birthday. I will be 65 in August. By the healing grace of God and with my faith, common sense and the help of competent doctors, I plan to fare better. I am a healing in progress not just for my personal benefit, but for the benefit of my family members and others who may need to be encouraged and enlightened in their battles against life-threatening health issues. People like you prayer partners are helping me achieve that.
I am happy to report that I continue to feel stronger, continue to respond exceptionally well to medication and this blessing is inspiring more and more people to prayerfully join me on this healing train.
On Wednesday, I power-walked three miles non-stop in 63 minutes on my treadmill and weighed 230 afterward. That's a magnum improvement since eight months ago, my weight had shamefully reached 253 pounds, and two months ago, I could not take 10 steps, wash my face, shower or eat a meal without stopping every 30 seconds to catch my breath.
Last week, I also covered a Rush arena football game, my first assignment in more than two months. This week, I plan to drop below 230 pounds for the first time in six years. And while radioactive seeds work to dissolve my prostate cancer and my heart continues to respond well to medication, rest and consistent low-grade exercise, I will ease my way back to work.
In three weeks, I am scheduled to undergo a stress test and other examinations to confirm progress in terms of my end-stage congestion heart failure to clear me to return to work full-time. By that time, I plan to have lowered my weight to a consistent 225 and have my heart strong enough where the need for a heart transplant will be significantly minimized at the least and eliminated at the most.

]]> http://blogs.suntimes.com/banks/2008/06/healing_train_is_picking_up_st.html http://blogs.suntimes.com/banks/2008/06/healing_train_is_picking_up_st.html Fighting cancer and heart failure Sun, 08 Jun 2008 08:18:09 -0600 Never too late when Dr. Doctor Jesus is involved God bless you.
For this entry, I want to use a live medical emergency in progress, one that is squarely associated with my situation.
I am asking Donna Pittman, a fellow passenger on this "trust train", being engineered by Jesus as we ride the track of faith straight to His Healingville, to welcome aboard a sick aunt of her girlfriend. Let's all say "hello" to Auntie by praying "May the good Lord bless and heal you, Auntie, in Jesus' name. Amen."

Let's let Donna explain the situation.
"Bless You Rev.,
I am happy to hear that you have been out and about. I was speaking to my girlfriend on yesterday and she was talking about her Aunt who is suffering pancreatic cancer. She is undergoing treatment but she seems to have given up hope. This woman has always played a big part in her church and is a lead singer in the choir. But she has given up. She complains all of the time. She speaks as if she is in her last days. The doctors have not given her up but sometimes when she goes for her treatment they can't administer it because she is too weak. I know it is hard to stay encouraged when you are going through but part of our healing comes through our outlook. If we don't expect the best, we won't receive the best. Who is it who said 'much faith, much power, little faith, little power'? I believe that. Anyway, I told my girlfriend that I was going to send her the link to your blog. She needs to hear you speak on your situation. Perhaps it will encourage her. I know it has encouraged me. I continue to lift you and your family up in prayer. Talk to you soon!"

Well, I want to talk to her right now. But first, let me call headquarters: "Dear Heavenly Father, Lord, God Jehovah, creator of heaven and earth, please speak to this dear suffering handmaiden through me. Speak words of encouragement and enlightenment that will strength her faith and her body to receive Your healing. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen."

Auntie, the easiest thing to do and the first thing the devil and death want us to do is to give up hope when we get a grim diagnosis like the one you got, involving pancreatic cancer, and the ones I got, involving brain cancer, end-stage congestive heart failure and prostate cancer.
As a fellow veteran soldier in the army of the Lord, you know that our hope, first and foremost, is in Jesus, the hope of all glory. In fact, we have given that testimony in song many times:
"My hope is built on nothing less,
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly lean on Jesus' name

]]> http://blogs.suntimes.com/banks/2008/06/never_too_late_when_dr_doctor.html http://blogs.suntimes.com/banks/2008/06/never_too_late_when_dr_doctor.html Fighting cancer and heart failure Wed, 04 Jun 2008 13:32:55 -0600 Easing back into action by God's grace God bless you.
Last Saturday night, I covered the Rush's electrifying 52-47 comeback win over the Kansas City Brigade. It was the first game I had covered in two months since being hospitalized and diagnosed with brain cancer, end-stage congestive heart failure and prostate cancer.
The fact that I got through the coverage successfully and did not suffer a heart attack with the way the Rush rallied back to score 17 unanswered points for the win is proof that God is healing me. My health continues to improve. Rush general manager Mike Polisky and I watched the last quarter of the game on the press room television. He had confidence all along that his team would tough it out. But most people may say that it was a game the Rush did not deserve to win.
My only difficulty was a couple of incidences of incontinence. But I fortunately was able to get to a restroom in time. Incontinence, an excruciating and often uncontrolable urge to urinate, is a popular side effect from prostate surgery. Dr. Brian Moran and others have warned me that the worse may be yet to come as the radioactive seeds increase their attacks on dissolving and dislodging the cancers that invaded my prostate.
Yes, our prayers are paying off. And I can't thank you prayer partners enough for joining me in this "healing in progress."
But what also impress me are the tons of people who have shone me love whenever I have gone out in public. At the Rush game, dozens of individual fans greeted me by name out of the blue as I moved through the arena traffic to and from the press box and press room.

]]> http://blogs.suntimes.com/banks/2008/06/easing_back_into_action_by_god.html http://blogs.suntimes.com/banks/2008/06/easing_back_into_action_by_god.html Fighting cancer and heart failure Tue, 03 Jun 2008 17:42:30 -0600 Yes, God is real and still healing. God bless you.
Thank you readers, friends, strangers, relatives and Kingdom sisters and brothers.
Your prayers and best wishes are not in vain because day after day after day, I'm feeling God's healing coming on strong.
Truly, God is real. And because He's real, there is still healing in the holy hem of His son Jesus if we dare reach out and touch it with fingers of faith. Yes, there also is still some balm in yonder's Gilead. Check out these latest reasons why I know.
Tuesday, the first time I had exercised since undergoing May 21 radiation therapy for my prostate cancer, I walked 2.5 miles nonstop on my home treadmill in 55 minutes. One day later, I walked three miles nonstop in 61 minutes.
That's great news both for my prostate cancer and especially my end-stage congestive heart failure.
Thank you, Jesus!

]]> http://blogs.suntimes.com/banks/2008/05/yes_god_is_real_and_still_heal.html http://blogs.suntimes.com/banks/2008/05/yes_god_is_real_and_still_heal.html Prostate cancer Thu, 29 May 2008 09:06:59 -0600 A healing in the midst of holy harvest God bless you.
This Memorial Day weekend is memorable for me not just because I am undergoing God's healings from brain cancer, prostate cancer and a bad heart, but because I am enjoying a holy harvest in my household.
On Friday morning, following my chest pains occuring two days after radiation treatment on my prostate, my daughter Noelle helped bring me profound relief with a powerful prayer.
This morning (Sunday, May 25), her six-year-old son Caleb is being what he calls "bapatised" at Rhema Word Kingdom Ministries in Riverdale.
My daughter's fervent prayer of faith and my grandson's baptism represent holy harvest for my wife Joyce and me. We were both raised in Christian families, we raised our three daughters to become born-again Christians and now we are enjoying the fruits of our prayers and labors by seeing our children and grandchildren receive God's salvation.
Godly stuff like this is added medicine to me. While my healing comes from God and is ignited primarily by my faith in Him, my faith and your faith are also fueled by those around us. So it pays, especially in times of adversity, to be in the company of fellow Christians who will touch and agree with you in prayer to God for the desires of your heart.

]]> http://blogs.suntimes.com/banks/2008/05/a_healing_in_the_midst_of_holy.html http://blogs.suntimes.com/banks/2008/05/a_healing_in_the_midst_of_holy.html Prostate cancer Sat, 24 May 2008 23:40:16 -0600 One surgery down, ??? to go.........Praise God! God bless you, today.
Yesterday's (Wednesday, May 21) radioactive seeds implantation for my prostate cancer went as Joyce and I prayed it would. Smooth. Wonderful. Even great?
I don't want to jump to conclusions too quickly. But so far, I not only feel better than expected but better than I've felt overall in a long time. As I told you at the start of this journey, I want to carefully take you through each stop along the way. I want to share with you even some--but not all--of the subtle details of this "healing in progress" trip.
Enjoy the scenery as we travel. Enjoy the trees and the breeze. The flowers and April showers. The hills, wind mills, frills and thrills. The valleys, the mountains, the sunshine, the clouds and all the whatever-else God bestows upon us as we reach our respective destinations of healing if you are truly praying along with me.

]]> http://blogs.suntimes.com/banks/2008/05/one_surgery_down_to_gopraise_g.html http://blogs.suntimes.com/banks/2008/05/one_surgery_down_to_gopraise_g.html Prostate cancer Thu, 22 May 2008 13:44:03 -0600 Lacy Banks on Comcast SportsNet

God bless you.
By now, many of you have seen the beautiful special that Chicago's Comcast Cable aired of my "Healing In Progress" during its May 16 SportsNite hourlong program.
My wife Joyce and I were happy and honored to have former Bear great Dan Jiggetts, producer Willie Parker and cameraman Todd Williams in our humble home. In later shoots, cameramen Eric Fogle and Brett Fisher did the honors.
These gentlemen were quintessential professionals. My only regret is that my granddaughter Lauren Chapman was disappointed that I didn't get Dan's autograph. But hopefully I won't forget it in a followup.
Fogle came to Chicago's Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church while I was preaching the second night of its 82nd church anniversary revival. Pastor Joseph Jackson, his members and I were very grateful that Eric stayed for the whole service, heard the entire sermon, did not appear frightened by the shouting saints and, I believe, tossed me a couple of "amen reverend" when I needed extra fuel for fire.
I want to thank Comcast for helping us to invite the rest of America into our home and to join my wife and me on this healing journey. We're picking up prayerful passengers now from around the world, really. Wherever people can log in on the Sun-Times, they can enjoy seeing my wife and me in the accompanying video, which is presented in High-Definition living color and surround-sound stereo.
Whew!
Look Ma! We're TV stars now!
Station executive producer Lissa Druss Christman has already expressed interest in doing a followup later during this joyful victorious journey. And by that time, I hope to present a lighter and definitely healthier image. Yes, let's be honest. I'm ashamed of myself. I am about 40 pounds overweight. That's not being responsible on my part. I can't be lazy and expect God to do everything. I must put my faith to work by pushing away from that dinner table, where my wife is a queen of gourmet cuisine, and add more exercising and fasting to my regimen.
God bless you.

]]> http://blogs.suntimes.com/banks/2008/05/lacy_banks_on_comcast_sports_n_1.html http://blogs.suntimes.com/banks/2008/05/lacy_banks_on_comcast_sports_n_1.html Tue, 20 May 2008 15:46:02 -0600 Prayer, pills, prayer, radiation seeds and more prayer Tomorrow morning, my healing schedule calls for prayer with my wife Joyce, 11 pills, prayer, radiation seeds implantation, then more prayer as my healing from brain cancer, prostate cancer and end-stage congestive heart failure continues.
I still fell no pain, am able to power-walk on my treadmill, gradually raising my time and speed. Three nights ago, I did 2.9 miles nonstop in 55 minutes. That's good news for my heart. The progress with my heart leads Dr. Allen Anderson, my cardiologist at the University of Chicago Medical Center, to believe I may not need to have an HeartMate XVE LVAS pumping machine attached to my heart to tide me over until I reach the cancer-free rating qualifying me for heart transplantation.
"You are progressing much better than we expected," Dr. Anderson told me in my last visit.
With my brain cancer being declared benign and held in check by a weekly pill (.5mg Cabergoline), I now tend to my prostate cancer with the implantation of radiation seeds.
I have chosen the seeds implantation because of the favorable recoveries by friends like Rev. Samuel Hinkle, Rev. Tommie McCray, Dec. Erwin Dabney, Dr. Ansel Johnson, Dec. Leroy Reed, Dec. Franklin Reed and so many more.
Moreover, the seeds procedure is quicker (roughly 30 minutes), less painful, has fewer side effects and requires less recovery time than the other treatment options. Those options are radical prostatectomy, where the prostate is surgically removed, external radiation beams (nine weeks of treatments), chemotherapy and a freezing of the prostate.
"I know of at least a dozen of my friends who received the seeds treatment and they're all doing well," Dec. Dabney said. "Another friend had his prostate surgically removed last year and he still has to wear diapers (because of incontinence)."
Rev. Hinkle underwent his seeds implantation in 2002 at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
"And I've recovered extremely well with minimal pain or side effects," he said. "It got rid of my cancer within months. God is able. He brought me through this with the aid of doctors. That's my testimony and I continue to share it wherever I go. By the grace of God, I am a cancer survivor."
So is my pastor, Dr. Clay Evans, founder of Fellowship Baptist Church, where Rev. Charles Jenkins has succeeded him as pastor. Dr. Evans was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer six years ago and given six months to live.
"But the Lord answered prayer, moved through His surgeons, and I'm still here preaching His word," Dr. Evans said. "I am a living testimony. God is our salvation in every situation, be it medical, legal, social, economic or whatever. And we must give Him the glory for it first and foremost."

]]> http://blogs.suntimes.com/banks/2008/05/prayer_pills_prayer_radiation_1.html http://blogs.suntimes.com/banks/2008/05/prayer_pills_prayer_radiation_1.html Mon, 19 May 2008 13:28:39 -0600 Love, marriage and healing--launching into the deep This healing journey, on which I have prayed the Lord, in Jesus' name, to take me to the destination of safe recovery from brain cancer, prostate cancer and end-stage congestive heart failure, was never meant or expected to be easy.
Neither was it expected to be quick and painless.
Finding a balance between common sense and bold faith has its challenges when the believer has more than himself to think about. I'm also a devout family man. So I don't want to do anything that will hurt my wife and kids.
Last week, however, I frightened my wife Joyce into tears, frustration and anger when I ran a check on my healing status by giving my medicines three days off. Starting with my regular day of fasting and praying, during which I neither eat nor drink anything for at least 12 hours, normally from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., I went for three days without taking the daily nine different pills (17 in total) to see how I'd feel.
To my delight, I not only felt no worse, but my blood pressure remained steady in the area of 110 over 75.
But since I felt I shouldn't keep this a secret from Joyce, I told her. She was not happy. She did what a good, faithful, loving wife would do. She chewed me out, told me to get back on my medicines, got our three daughters Nicole, Noelle and Natasha, and our three-year-old grand-daughter Nina to help her
and I did.
When her mother, Nicole, dialed me and I answered to hear Nina's soft, small, sweet voice say, "Grandpa, take your medicine," I had to give in. Really, I had not decided to stop taking my medicines altogether. But that experience reminded me of the importance of striking a balance between common sense and bold faith in terms of me being a family man.

]]> http://blogs.suntimes.com/banks/2008/05/love_marriage_and_healinglaunc.html http://blogs.suntimes.com/banks/2008/05/love_marriage_and_healinglaunc.html Sun, 18 May 2008 02:08:26 -0600 The Increasing High Cost of Decreasing Health Care God bless you.
I wish God would bless each of you as well as he is blessing people like me.
Sure, all is not completely well with me. I am dealing with brain cancer, prostate cancer and end-stage congestive heart failure that may require me to have at least two serious surgeries as well as an out-patient radiation seeds implantation procedure.
But, thanks to God, on the whole, I am doing very well in my healing journey. Run down this basic checklist with me:
1. I have faith in a healing God, who is sustaining and healing me as I have been reporting to you, and I have His ultimate gift of eternal life.
2. I have a good job and good group health insurance coverage.
3. I am receiving effective treatment from skilled doctors at The University of Chicago Medical Center, Northwestern Memorial Hospital and the Chicago Prostate Cancer Center.
4, I have a beautiful wife of 39 years (Joyce), a great family and a wonderful, comfortable home.
5. I am experiencing no significant or sustained pain or discomfort.

]]> http://blogs.suntimes.com/banks/2008/05/the_increasing_high_cost_of_de.html http://blogs.suntimes.com/banks/2008/05/the_increasing_high_cost_of_de.html Fighting cancer and heart failure Wed, 14 May 2008 11:23:28 -0600