1. Prayer does cure cancer but you have to understand how it works my wife has esopagel cancer and her cancer Dr and radiolgist both agree prayer is the only reason she can eat today the devil has throne every side effect of kemo at her and has beat every one prayer allows the Dr to make the right choices for treatment it allows the body to respond when it shouldn't it gives the person strengh and hope when others will quit I have ben a wreck when my wife is calm and at peace only prayer and faith in GOD can do that

Posted at 2:56PM on Jan 8th 2007 by Thomas Cameron

2. I believe in the power of prayer, but I do not believe we can control God by our words, which is what some of us think we can do through prayer and what Darlene Bishop may have been advocating.

Jacki, thanks for bringing us this news. I also saw it in our newspaper, so a lot of us should become aware of it.

How does prayer make a difference? I've thought about that. I'm sure many of us have.

For one thing, as you noted, it relieves stress and creates confidence, and research has linked reduced stress and higher confidence to better outcomes for diseases, including cancer. Even if we are wrong about the existence of God, those of us who pray are getting this benefit.

Many believers also have a sense of an awesome power that influences their lives in ways that seem beyond the operation of nature as we understand it. I and some of my family and friends speak of instances where we feel God has touched our lives. The possibility of miracles is not strange to us. Just because our excellent science has not proved this power does not mean it does not exist. Think back to radio waves that have existed from time immemorial but were not detected and put to use until the development of the radio a little more than a century ago; the power was there, even though science did not yet recognize it.

I have seen too many fine people succumb to cancer and other diseases to think that godly living and prayer are enough to reliably overcome the physical impact of cancer, and I have thought about how God interacts with us in disease. My own view is that there are some physical processes that are beyond spiritual intervention, at least most of the time, but there are other processes where the mind makes a difference. This mind-body connection is well established, whether sometimes God is involved or not. I believe that God will influence our disease outcomes (and our lives generally) where that is possible, and I believe it is more possible when we open ourselves to God, especially if we are supported by the prayers of others.

It also seems to me that our suffering can serve a positive purpose, in our own lives and in the lives of others. I'm not into suffering and try to avoid it, but I'm convinced that suffering at times has a purpose, such as clarifying priorities and concerns in our own lives and motivating others. One of the authors who has written eloquently about this is Victor Frankl in his classic book "Man's Search for Meaning." Perhaps suffering is sometimes the answer to those of us who pray that God's kingdom come, God's will be done.

My impression is that those of us who believe are generally also more comfortable with our fates than are those who do not believe, something that made a big difference for me when I was diagnosed with a challenging case of prostate cancer seven years (and a month) ago and given a prognosis of five years (including two declining years) by two respected doctors. (I'm doing a whole lot better than that!)

What about all the medical tactics that believers like me willingly employ? That's easy: we see that God may be involved in providing those tactics; I believe God is involved. It's like the old story of the man facing a flood who would not leave his house, believing that God would save him. First the police came with a loud speaker in a car urging all to leave. But the man said he would stay and prayed to God. Second, the firemen came in a boat and called on the man to leave, but instead he stayed and prayed again for God's help. Finally, the Army came in a helicopter and lowered a harness so the man could escape, but he refused, saying he knew God would help him, and again he prayed for deliverance. The next thing the man knew, he was being interviewed by a puzzled St. Peter, whowas surprized because the man was not supposed to die for many years. The man was also puzzled because God had not saved him. He asked St. Peter why, and St. Peter admitted he was at a loss. St. Peter said, You should be alive. When the flood came, first we sent a car to warn you, then we sent a boat to save you, and finally we sent that helicopter." Well, our doctors, medicines and other resources are like that car, boat and helicopter.

I would like to read what others think about prayer and cancer.

Jim

Posted at 11:20AM on Jan 6th 2007 by Jim Waldenfels

3. Those who feel BETTER take the time to read support group messages and post to support groups. If one is not doing as well, one does not post as often. Thus, to say that those who used the words like prayer and worship had higher levels of overall well-being is true, not because the words had some health effect, but becuase those women who used them felt better and had the energy to contribute.

It was also stated in the study that:

It’s possible that religious talk in the sessions had some negative effects on patients, Shaw wrote in the study, published in the journal Psycho-Oncology. Previous research has found that some religious coping, such as a belief that one is being punished with illness by God, is associated with diminished mental health and quality of life.

Some participants in Shaw's study reported that they were so averse to the religious talk in the online sessions that they turned away from them.

Posted at 2:55PM on Jan 6th 2007 by hchcec

4. I've always been told that there is medical evidence that people with an illness do better when they know that other people are praying for them, regardless of whether they, themselves, pray.
Yet another reason to let people in our lives who are battling things like cancer know that we are thinking of them.

Posted at 10:25AM on Jan 7th 2007 by gs

5. Actually GS, the evidence indicates just the opposite:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060403133554.htm

Posted at 7:49PM on Jan 7th 2007 by hchcec