AN UPDATE It’s been a while since I last wrote a post. I write today with some good news: after three rounds of chemo, by the good graces of God, it appears that the treatment is working well. The tumors have greatly shrunk and the cancer has not spread further…

A LITANY FOR HEALING Ever since my diagnosis was announced, I’ve been blessed with good will from across the world often in the form of people sharing a wird (regular litany) for healing. These offerings have been beautiful and powerful. The one I wanted to share with you all is…

EMBRACING THE GIFT OF LIFE Recently, over a phone call with a cancer survivor, I couldn’t stop my tears from flowing upon mentioning that my daughter is only 3 years old. I was caught off guard by my own emotions. They were tears of sadness, yes, at the thought of…

THOUGHTS ON MIRACLES AND HOPE For the past several weeks my family and friends, and even kind acquaintances or strangers, have told me that they are praying for a miracle and have encouraged me to be hopeful. These words have been so comforting especially knowing that they come from such…

NOTES FROM THE HOSPITAL Recently I spent 10 days in the hospital to fight off a few infections post chemo. I remember telling my wife before the hospitalization that what I feared more than death was spending a lot of days in the hospital rather than at home. This fear…

EXPERIENCING RAMADAN IN A STATE OF ILLNESS I was hit with my cancer diagnoses just a couple of weeks before the beginning of Ramadan. I was so looking forward to the month of blessings and mercy for a while now as I felt an aching in my heart to come…

PREPARING MY FAMILY FOR DEATH As a chaplain who has spoken to many dying people over the years, almost always the number one concern they all spoke of was how their family members would fare after they are gone. Today as I sit among the designated dying, the concern for…

THERAPY THROUGH THE SENSES A few days ago as I slowly awoke from a painful biopsy and procedure, I pressed against my stomach and cried out in excruciating pain. The nurse came to my side, held my arm and asked “on a scale of 1-10 how much pain?” I replied…

THE POWER OF COMMUNAL PRAYER On Sunday evening, two nights after my first round of chemotherapy, I lie in bed surrounded by loved ones, completely weakened and exhausted from the after affects. The oncologist had warned it was going to be tough. But, I was unprepared for how much I…