Though he never smoked, in 2008 Hal was diagnosed with Lung cancer. He immediately had surgery, but by 2011, the cancer had returned and was rapidly spreading through his body. In 2012, doctors told Hal to prepare for the worst.
At this point, Hal was was diagnosed with stage 4 bone cancer, his chest cavity was full of metastatic lung cancer and it was all rounded off with a golf-ball, size tumour in his neck. And after losing 30 pounds, his clothes just hung on him.
But during this time, Hal and his wife, kids and others in his church had turned to prayer and were believing God for a miracle. Hal says, “I never communed with God as much as I did then.”
When Hal showed up at the Anderson cancer clinic, numerous darks spots on a PET scan confirmed he was filled with cancer from his head to his pelvis.
When a doctor asked Hal what he wanted to do. Hal answered he was believing God for a miracle. The doctor answered simply “You have a lot of faith.”
After the clinic laid out his options, Hal said he wasn’t interested in chemo therapy and chose a drug called Tarceva which was effective against the type of cancer he had. It would not cure him, but could potentially give him a few more years.
But no one was expecting the results that took place in just a matter of weeks.
Hal started his oral treatment on January 25th, 2013. When he returned for his first PET scan on April 11th, doctors and workers at the clinic were stunned to see he was completely clear of cancer. One worker called Hal “a walking miracle.”
Was it Tarceva or God or both?
Dr. Tammy Young, his Jackson oncologist credits both. In an interview with the Clarion–Ledger, she said Hal “has a lung cancer that has a mutation that is very responsive to Tarceva … He took it for a few months and had a very good response from the treatment. Most patients don’t have as spectacular a response as Hal has had. And, absolutely, the power of prayer is an important part of this picture.”
Reports from the Anderson clinic say the doctors are still “amazed” by Hal’s dramatic turnaround.
For Hal there is no doubt God has healed him and he has a scan showing him full of cancer and a second one showing him cleared. He is busy sharing these scans and his testimony in churches around Jackson.
He continues to take Tarceva on the doctor’s recommendations and will be returning for regular check-ups.
My own personal healing
I believe in miracles. God healed me of epilepsy which doctors said I would have the rest of my life.
But I am also firm believer in not “testing” God (Deut 6:16). We need to take advantage of any medical cures available and at the same time believe God for our own miracle. In my case, I was taking Dilantin for my epilepsy. I was having two to three attacks a month and the medication was effectively reducing the severity.
Shortly after I became a Christian, the attacks just stopped. No one prayed for me, but when I put my faith in Jesus for my salvation, I believe “by His stripes” I was also healed (Isaiah 53:4-5). I had my last epileptic attack over 35 years ago.
OpentheWord.org 