June 24th - Blog Update from Greg

	June 24, 2012 Dear Friends and Family,  I returned two weeks ago from my first week at the Oasis of Hope, an integrative medical clinic in Irvine, California. I thought you might like to hear a little bit about my experience. Oasis of Hope believes in combining the best of traditional cancer treatments (like surgery, chemo and radiation) with the best of natural and alternative medicine. I found the doctors and medical staff there to be authentic, highly intelligent and passionate about their work. Their goal is to hit cancer from many different angles, thus improving the odds of beating it. The approach is to use treatments that do not cause more illness or pain to the patient, but rather build the patient's body to better fight the disease. As we were told, "You are not here to treat the cancer--you are here to treat your body so it can fight the cancer." My week there was an intense process of therapies, one after the other. It was also a tremendous learning experience, because for each therapy we asked a lot of questions and learned the "what and why" of each step of the treatment process. We heard lectures daily on practical topics--things we can do to help us fight the battle such as food, drink, lifestyle and environmental issues. Jeane and I were there that week with seven other people who had cancer, along with their families, all fighting with positive action, great faith and determination. People have asked me what our "treatment plan" consisted of. Well, at the risk of sounding like a crazy man to you, I had treatments with names like Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, High-dose Vitamin C IV's, Lymphatic Drainage, Ultraviolet Blood Irradiation, Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy, Infrared Sauna and so forth--all designed to improve and change the inner terrain of my body to help destroy cancer cells. I drank wheat grass and learned how to make pudding out of almond milk and chia seeds. Really. What else did I learn? I learned that the words and phrases describing cancer are also words and phrases I would use to describe the other evils and powers of darkness of this world. They are sneaky, slothful, opportunistic, deceitful; they hide in the dark and they morph and change in order to do their damage. They have the ability to disguise themselves so our immune systems do not recognize them as dangerous. They are not as they seem. They appear huge and powerful and scary; the truth is that cancer cells are fairly weak, with low energy, thriving on a low oxygen, acidic environment. The best thing a cancer cell has going for it is that it has no programmed death like our other cells, so it just keeps mutating and growing. When I learned this I thought back to one of the first words I had received from the Lord when I was diagnosed. It was the story about Jesus cursing the fig tree and it died. I said to the cancer, "So you're not programmed to die? Well then, let me introduce you to someone named Jesus Christ, the one who has power over life and death." (Aha!) An amazing part of each day was our devotional time before lunch, when a staff member led music, discussion and prayer. At one point he encouraged us to pray as if there were no treatments for cancer. "God is our healer," he said. "And if our doctors get to help, that's great." Another time he opened prayers by saying, "The Holy Spirit is welcomed here to do his work." I was moved by such a proclamation being voiced in a medical establishment. I come home with great hope, having been renewed in body and spirit, and I look forward to going back in July for my second week of treatment. Thank you once again for doing battle in your prayers and helping me "...stand against the devil's schemes."  Eph. 6:11 Walking in the presence, Greg