Will You Survive Your Cancer Trial?

I know this is a hard potential scenario to ponder, but can you imagine falling over 1,000 feet to your death? Sadly, this type of tragic and deadly accident happened to a high school classmate of mine earlier this month (May 2021) in a climbing expedition in the Bitterroot Mountains in Montana. Below is how one of the articles I read described this horrific accident (https://www.kulr8.com/regional/55-year-old-man-dies-in-climbing-accident-near-sugarloaf-peak/article_875f219f-e7a7-5be1-8014-745d282b9d9a.html):

"MISSOULA, Mont. - Ravalli County Sheriff-Coroner Steve Holton said Ravalli County Search and Rescue and the Sheriff's Office responded to a fatal climbing accident near Sugarloaf Peak over the weekend. During the afternoon of May 8, 2021, a group of climbers were descending the mountain when temperatures dropped significantly, causing the ice to harden. Winds increased covering the trail with loose soft snow and making climbing conditions severe. Bryan Louis Kercher, 55, slipped, causing him to slide approximately 1,000 feet down a steep slope before striking a large boulder and sustaining fatal injuries. The climbing party used an InReach emergency beacon to summon emergency services. Ravalli County Search and Rescue responded that evening, but because of the conditions and darkness were not able to reach the scene until the following morning. The victim was recovered on May 9 with the assistance of a Two Bear Air helicopter and Search and Rescue volunteers. Ravalli County SAR and the RCSO extend their condolences to Kercher's family and friends during this tragic time. Sheriff Holton also thanked Two Bear Air and the volunteers of Search and Rescue for their expertise and assistance in the recovery. RCSAR and the RCSO encourage everyone to be aware of and plan for rapidly changing weather and dangerous conditions as people start to recreate in the mountains this spring. You are also advised to carry an emergency beacon to summon help, as the climbers in this situation were able to."

Since we did not run in the same circle of friends, Bryan Kercher and I were never close friends in High School, but we were friendly with each other back in the day and we were friends on Facebook. After we connected on social media in 2011, I enjoyed viewing his incredible pictures of his amazing Montana adventures which he shared with his friends on Facebook. He was always hiking, snowshoeing, and climbing mountains and he also ran some races and marathons out in the wilderness of Montana. I remember that he or one of his friends shared on Facebook once that he was even chased by a grizzly bear or two. Since he lived so close to it and since it has breathtaking views, his favorite hiking destination was Glacier National Park, which is a National Park I hope to visit one day and check off my bucket list. It seemed like he was doing an activity in the outdoors just about every weekend. I vividly remember how he shared pictures and stories of climbing Mt. Rainer near Seattle. I have been to this mountain in the State of Washington before and, even though Kristina and I only hiked some of the easier trails at this National Park, I saw first-hand how difficult it was to try and climb to the top of this beautiful mountain. When I think of all he shared over the years on social media, the pictures he posted were breathtaking and the stories which described the pictures were even better. We did correspond a few times over the years through Facebook Messenger. He reached out to me a few years ago when he was in the middle of a cancer trial. At the time of his death, I believe he was in remission from his cancer. In preparation for this blog post, I read a lot of what was written about him by his friends and family in their tribute posts and my only regret is I did not take the time to get to know him better than I did. He was a kind and gentle man who selflessly served his family and friends. I will miss hearing from Bryan on Facebook and reading about his amazing adventures in life.

If I am totally honest, I have thought about Bryan’s accident almost every day since I first read about it. I guess I keep reflecting on his death because it was so tragic and sudden. Furthermore, when I read about a middle school and high school classmate of mine passing away, such dreadful news seems to make more of an impression on me than many other deaths I read about. Since I am a volunteer ministry coordinator for a cancer support group at the church which I attend, I have the amazing privilege of ministering to people with various kinds of cancer. Many of these people have cancerous conditions which are cured or go into remission while many others endure cancer trials which are more serious or even terminal. Since this ministry position probably causes me to think about death and the implications of it more than most people my age, one of the thoughts which keeps popping up in my head since reading about his accident is “can I even begin to imagine what it is like to fall that far off the side of a mountain”? Since I am very scared of heights, it brings chills to my body just to think about dying in that fashion. According to Bing.com, it takes about 7.42 second to fall 1,000 feet. I say this as humbly as I can, but what was Bryan thinking about during those 7+ seconds? As he was falling, did his life flash before his eyes? Did he think about his children? Did he think about trying to find some way to save himself? Did he pray for his situation? Did he cry out to his creator for help? Did he bump his head as he fell down the slope causing him to lose consciousness? Did he wonder if he was going to survive the fall? 7.42 seconds is not a lot of time, and I will never know what Bryan was thinking about in those last seconds of his life. Even though I do not know what he was thinking about, I can only imagine how helpless and scared he must have felt as he was falling down that slippery mountain slope.

Reflecting on the circumstances of Bryan’s tragic hiking accident also causes me think about the people I have ministered to over the years who have been diagnosed with terminal cancer. I am reminded about how helpless many of them feel after they are told their cancer is terminal. Since God designed us to fear death more than anything else in this world, it is a natural human emotion to feel scared and hopeless if you start slipping off the side of a tall mountain and it is also natural to have these same feelings when you are told your cancer is terminal. Once you realize your life is going to end soon, it will likely cause an unsettling emotional response which I cannot adequately describe with words in this blog post. While I was not in the doctor’s office with any of them when they were told their cancer was terminal, I have personally observed or heard such unsettling emotional responses shortly after they received such news more times than I care to remember. This type of news is so unnerving that most people are unable or unwilling to share how they are really feeling in response to such a life-changing diagnosis. As a result, I normally only get a brief glimpse of questions and fears which are running through the head of someone who is diagnosed with terminal cancer. However, unlike Bryan, these individuals have more than 7.42 seconds to reflect on their lives and their terminal conditions, to look for answers to their end-of-life questions and to find a solution which will calm their fears. When they are given such a dreadful diagnosis, what is it that they are really thinking about as the descend the slope of a terminal cancer diagnosis? Do their lives flash before their eyes? Do they try and save themselves by looking for another opinion or alternative treatment even though the doctors are telling them there are no medical treatments available which can help them? Do they cry out to their creator for help? Eventually, all of them, regardless of if they are willing to admit it or not, will begin to think about “will I survive my terminal cancer trial”? While it may seem like a silly question to try and answer when the medical professionals are telling you that your cancer is terminal and there is absolutely no hope for you, a terminal cancer diagnosis does not guarantee that the cancer patient will pass away from cancer. For example, there is a lady who comes to our support group who survived her 18-month ordeal in hospice care. She was given only weeks or months to live, but she, by the grace of God, survived. That was over 20 years ago, but her story illustrates the point that not everyone who is given a terminal cancer diagnosis succumbs to their disease. Granted, her outcome is extremely rare and cannot really be explained from a modern medical perspective. A retired medical pathologist, who comes to our cancer support group and knows her as well, told me there is just no rational medical reason for why she survived. Her amazing story of recovery illustrates the point that God is in control of our lives – not the medical professionals.

When thinking about questions such as “will you survive your cancer trial?”, the bible provides answers to thought provoking questions in life like this one. I will be quoting a verse in the Old Testament which provides an answer this important question, but first a little background on why this verse has been on my mind lately. At the non-denominational Church Kristina and I attend, we have been studying the old-testament books of 1 and 2 Samuel over the past year or so. If you are not familiar with these Old Testament books, they are about life of King David. Here is how Wikipedia describes the life of King David:

“David is described in the Hebrew Bible as king of the United Monarchy of Israel and Judah. In the Books of Samuel, David is a young shepherd who gains fame first as a musician and later by killing the giant Goliath, champion of the Philistines. He becomes a favorite of King Saul and a close friend of Saul's son Jonathan. Worried that David is trying to take his throne, Saul turns on David and tries to kill him, leading the latter to go on the run and operate as a fugitive for several years. After Saul and Jonathan are killed in battle against the Philistines, a 30-year old David is anointed king over all Israel and then conquers Jerusalem, establishing the city as his capital, and taking the Ark of the Covenant into the city to be the center of worship in the Israelite religion David is richly represented in post-biblical Jewish written and oral tradition, and is discussed in the New Testament. Jesus is described as being descended from David in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.”

We recently studied 2 Samuel chapter 10 and verse 12 in this chapter made me think of this important question every terminal cancer patient ponders which is “will I survive my cancer trial?”. 2 Samuel 10:12 (ESV) tells us:

“Be of good courage, and let us be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God, and may the LORD do what seems good to him.”

As the preceding verse clearly states, the Lord will do what seems good to Him. Thankfully, God has a plan for each of our lives and it is up to Him to decide if any of us will survive our cancer trials. While this answer may not be comforting to all who read this verse in 2 Samuel, it should bring you peace if you have a personal relationship with His son, Jesus Christ. I will come back to why this verse should bring you peace in a minute, but below are a few more verses I would like to reference which describe the sovereignty of God:

Psalm 115:3 tells us:

“Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.”

Isaiah 25:8-9 tells us:

“He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The LORD has spoken. In that day they will say, Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”

Jeremiah 32:17 tells us:

“Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.”

Proverbs 19:21 tells us:

“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”

Acts 5:39 tells us:

“But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”

James 4:14-15 tells us:

“Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’”

Dictionary.com defines sovereignty as “the quality or state of being sovereign, or of having supreme power or authority”. When reflecting on the preceding verses, the reader should recognize that the bible tells us that God is sovereign over everything which happens in this world we live in, including the outcome of a cancer trial. Because He is sovereign, He is the supreme power and authority, and His purposes will prevail. Yes, He does whatever pleases Him. However, God’s supreme power and sovereign authority is not meant to be a giant wishing well, granting all of our requests we throw prayerfully throw His way. This includes all prayers from cancer patients asking for their cancer disease to be eradicated from their bodies. Why? God’s plans are greater than our plans. He is the author of our lives, and He knows where He wants to take us. While we may be mainly concerned with our comfort, His primary focus is on our soul and the souls of those within our sphere of influence. Psalm 130:5 tells us:

“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;”

Jesus taught his disciples to pray, “thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven.” When we focus on God’s sovereign will for our lives, we can trust that ultimately His will is for us to be with Him for eternity. Because He desires for us to be with him in eternity, 2 Samuel 10:12 should bring you tremendous peace when you read it, regardless of the outcome of your cancer trial.

How do we know that we can be qualified to share in his eternal inheritance? Colossians 1:11-14 tells us:

“May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

If you are trusting in Christ as your savior and Lord, the preceding verse in Colossians tells us that you will share in the inheritance of the saints in light. This means all who are in Christ will live with Christ in Heaven when they die. Why is heaven considered such a worthy inheritance? Revelation 2:7 describes heaven as paradise as follows:

“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.”

Sure, it is only natural for anyone with cancer to desire that they will survive their cancer trial, but that potential outcome is likely not God’s plan for each person who is diagnosed with cancer. In other words, many individuals who are diagnosed with cancer will survive their cancer trial while many others will end up succumbing to their disease. Even if you survive your existing cancer trial, it is only a temporary pass until death comes knocking on your door again at some point in the future. If we are all going to die and since many will die from cancer, are you confident that your soul will spend eternity in heaven with Christ? If you are in Christ and if you end up succumbing to your cancer trial, you can trust in the biblical promise that your soul will spend eternity in heaven, which the bible describes as paradise in Revelation 2:7. Dictionary.com describes paradise as “a place of extreme beauty, delight, or happiness”. While it may be difficult for many to completely trust in God’s plan for their lives, especially when facing a terminal cancer trial, Christians will not regret the timing of His prefect plan for their lives if their souls end up in a place of extreme beauty, delight or happiness. The souls of those individuals who end up in heaven with Christ will not wish that they spent another day here on earth. In other words, they will not look back at their time here on earth wishing they had spent another 20 years waiting to get to paradise. If you are able to respond to a terminal diagnosis with an eternal perspective, it affords the cancer patient an opportunity to begin trusting in God’s plan for their lives knowing the Lord will do what seems good to Him. Psalm 56:3 tells us:

“When I am afraid, I put my trust in You (God)”

The song, Come to Jesus by singer songwriter Chris Rice, sums up perfectly what has been discussed in the preceding blog post:

“Weak and wounded sinner Lost and left to die Oh, raise your head for Love is passing by

Come to Jesus Come to Jesus Come to Jesus and live

Now your burden's lifted And carried far away And precious blood has washed away the stain

So, sing to Jesus Sing to Jesus Sing to Jesus and live

And like a newborn baby Don't be afraid to crawl And remember when you walk sometimes we fall

So, fall on Jesus Fall on Jesus Fall on Jesus and live

Sometimes the way is lonely And steep and filled with pain So if your sky is dark and pours the rain

Then cry to Jesus Cry to Jesus Cry to Jesus and live

Oh and when the love splills over And music fills the night And when you can't contain your joy inside

Then dance for Jesus Dance for Jesus Dance for Jesus and live

With your final heartbeat Kiss the world goodbye Then go in peace, and laugh on Glory's side

And fly to Jesus Fly to Jesus Fly to Jesus and live

Fly to Jesus Fly to Jesus Fly to Jesus and live”

Yes, sometimes the way is lonely and steep and filled with the pain of a terminal cancer trial, but when the love spills over and you can’t contain your joy inside, cry to Jesus and live. And with your final heartbeat, kiss the world goodbye, then go in peace and laugh on Glory’s side.

My high school classmate, Bryan Kercher, only had around 7.42 seconds to react once he slipped and started falling down the side of Sugarloaf peak. He obviously knew his life was in serious trouble, but, once he slipped and started falling down the side of that mountain, there was nothing he could do as he fell to his death. While Bryan had so little time to respond once he knew his life was in real trouble, one of the amazing blessings of a terminal cancer trial is it gives the cancer patient so much more time to respond to their terminal diagnosis, to look for answers to their end-of-life questions and to find a solution for their fears. Is God using the circumstances of a terminal cancer trial to try and get your attention in order to draw you closer to Him? Ecclesiastes 3:11 states God has “set eternity in the human heart.” This means that in every human soul is a God-given awareness that there is “something more” than this transient world. And with that awareness of eternity comes a hope that we can one day find a fulfillment not afforded by the “vanity” in this world. Terminal cancer patients have so much more time than 7.42 seconds to consider their eternal destiny as they slide down the slope of a terminal cancer diagnosis.

Will you survive your cancer trial? Only the Lord knows the answer to that important question and, as we learned today, the Lord will do what seems good to Him. While that may seem like an incomplete answer to many who read this, He does promise everyone who is in Christ that their souls will spend eternity in paradise if they end up succumbing to their cancer trial. Trusting in this biblical eternal promise should provide anyone with terminal cancer tremendous peace knowing the Lord will do what seems good to Him.

“Be of good courage, and let us be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God, and may the LORD do what seems good to Him.” (2 Samuel 10:12 ESV)

Jim Risk, a two-time cancer survivor, is the volunteer Ministry Coordinator for the Cancer Support Group (CSG) at a non-denominational church in NE Ohio. Jim and his wife, Kristina, have participated and served in CSG, a Christian ministry, since 2007.

PS – Please pray for the Kercher family as they mourn the loss of a father, brother and son. Bryan is survived by his parents, Leroy and Helga; by his children, Eric and Sarah; and by his brother John and sister Holly (Choate). Below is a picture which was taken by Laurel Rose Vielle of Bryan shortly before he passed away. Bryan is in the yellow jacket: