Not My Story, His Glory

The original plan after finishing my radiation and chemotherapy tablets was to begin IV chemotherapy a couple of weeks later. But when the time came, I knew I couldn't do it. By that point, I was completely exhausted. I had very little energy, my skin still hadn't fully healed, and I was still struggling to keep food down. My body had already been through so much, and deep down I knew it simply couldn't cope with any more treatment. When I spoke with my medical oncologist, she explained that if I didn't start chemotherapy within the planned timeframe, the benefits would drop significantly. As it stood, there was only about a 50% chance it would provide any additional benefit. Waiting another week would reduce that even further, to the point where it likely wouldn't be worthwhile. If that was the decision I made, we would move straight to planning surgery. It wasn't an easy decision, but I believed it was the best one for my body. I prayed, placed the outcome in ...

Once I started feeling more like myself after treatment, I found myself reflecting on everything God had done for me. Not just throughout my cancer journey, but throughout my life. There were so many things I was thankful for. God had faithfully walked with me through treatment. He'd surrounded me with incredible people. He had given me peace during some of the most difficult moments of my life.  The more I reflected on it, the more I appreciated just how faithful He had been. I met with Darcie Frost, one of the lead pastors at Elim Papakura, to talk about baptism, what it meant, what I could expect, and, I suppose, to make sure I was doing it for the right reasons. Even finding our church felt like another example of God's hand at work.  Mum had been looking for a new church and had started watching Elim online. She happened to come across Elim Papakura and noticed that Darcie was from the United States and had studied in Boston, where much of my family lives. That unexpec...

This one is going to be a tough one to write. It's definitely the bad and the ugly, but also the unexpected good. Once my PET scan confirmed there was no spread, I was given the green light to start treatment and met with my oncologist. She explained what the next few months would look like and the side effects I could expect. She told me that radiation is cumulative, meaning the side effects build over time. Most people don't start experiencing significant side effects until around week three. I was given a long list of possible side effects, percentages, and statistics. She also explained that after a certain point it would be difficult to separate what was being caused by the radiation and what was being caused by the chemotherapy. I was reminded again that if treatment didn't work, surgery would be necessary. If surgery was successful, I would then move into five years of surveillance. The appointment lasted about an hour and a half. I took my sister with me, and if I c...

Sometimes the hardest news becomes the beginning of a story God is still writing. This happened during one of the most difficult seasons of my life. We had lost my dad the year before. He’d been struggling for a long time and passed away in October. If I'm being honest, there had already been signs that something wasn't quite right with my health. I was having occasional stomach issues and some slight bleeding, but everything was explained away as something I'd eaten or a popped blood vessel. A couple of months after Dad passed away, I decided to see a specialist because I knew something wasn't right. I’d started noticing a clear discharge that didn't seem suspicious in itself, but it was unusual for me. I knew my body, and I knew this wasn't normal. I was due to travel to the United States to visit family and didn't want to go with this hanging over me. I saw a gynaecologist who examined me and said the words nobody wants to hear. "I think this could b...

If you've never heard the word "testimony" before, it's simply someone sharing the story of what God has done in their life. This is mine. I debated whether I should share my testimony publicly. Writing something this personal feels vulnerable. But this story isn't really about me. It's about God and His faithfulness. In early 2024 I was diagnosed with cancer, I was told it was advanced. I had treatment, which was brutal and although it had worked, it didn't work enough and I would need surgery. The surgery would be major. But I trusted in God.  I was so thankful for everything that he had done in my life so I chose to get baptised before my surgery. After my surgery I was in ICU, while recovering I met an administrator who wanted to take my details. She asked me a series of questions. We started talking and she was from India, I told her that we lived in India before coming to NZ.  She asked me what my religion was and I said Christian, she said she was t...