HOW TO BE A CANCER SURVIOR by living on the other side.

My neighbor Bob is 87 years old. He has been watching his wife slip further away every day because of Alzheimer. Bob has a daughter Janet about my age. She and husband Mike have seen more pain and joy than anyone I have ever known. Mike lost his first wife about the same time Janet lost her husband both killed in tragic car accidents. The Holy Spirit brought these two together in a supernatural way. They later had a daughter Julie that blessed them in such a mighty way. When our children are born we never know what struggles they might face. Some have health issues like cystic fibrosis. No one but parents that have lived with sick children can ever tell you how difficult it is. We don’t have a name for a parent that loses a child. The thing that most parents hold so dear after such a thing is the joy that child brought them, however brief or long that might be. Death is a part of life and we all want to grow old with all of our faculties.

I never knew Mike and Janet’s daughter Julie but I have seen her spirit manifest in the both of them. This gift of eternal life and the promise of heaven is the hope and joy that requires faith. It is that peace that passes all understanding.

Patti and I took the shuttle to Mayo and met a couple named Mike and Leslie Meadows. They owned Meadows Furniture Inc in Richland Center, WI. I find out that they are acquaintances with Rob and Joyce Pearson, Tarkio friends of ours. The town of Richland Center is praying for Leslie. She has the cancer mesothelioma. God gave us an opportunity to intercede in prayer for a couple we will never see again.

I had an MRI today and the woman that started my IV had an unusual last name. I asked her if she could pronounce her last name. She laughs and says yes. She had an indistinguishable accent. “Where are you from?” I asked. “Bosnia”, she said.

I have an intuitive gift or curse depending on how you look at it. I can see people that have suffered emotional pain. I see it in the spirit and seldom acknowledge it to them. In this case I felt she needed me to. I looked at her and said, “ I am sorry. Did you lose your family?” She said, “All but my two boys”. I gained my composure and spent the hour in the MRI machine in mediation and prayer for her. I did not open my eyes the entire time. I would not have been able to do it without that woman. Back in to see the Doctor and talk about the surgery I’m about to have.  Its called a superficial parotidectomy and we hope it reveals that I have no cancer. I have complete faith in God and Dr. Olson.  He has kind eyes. I will finally have the truth when I wake up from surgery. I was released the next day and Patti drives me home. We stop in Clear Lake, Iowa to have some lunch at a Culver’s. When I come out of the restroom Patti is talking with Keith & Sheri Worrel, members of our church in Olathe.  Sheri leads the bible study that Patti attends and they were driving back from vacation. Another God connection and they were delighted to hear the news that I didn’t have cancer. They found no cancer after a very serious operation to remove a benign Warthin’s tumor. When we got home and looked at the mail we had a letter from KU. It was a very nice letter from Dr Girod. He was very concerned that I get a second opinion to positively rule out cancer. At one point they had me convinced I had cancer when they went looking for a primary and took out my tonsils.When the pathologist at Mayo thought the slide showed cancer I had no choice but to have a second operation to get a tissue sample directly from the tumor.This should have been done from the start at KU because the only way to prove you don’t have cancer is from a tissue biopsy. The scars will be my reminder that I am a cancer survivor even if I never had cancer.  

Hampton Inn Rochester, MN. Monday June 4, 2012

As I was getting my breakfast I begin to talk with a man from Buffalo, NY.  He was with his friend that was trying to get a kidney transplant.   He then introduces me to his friend.  I was once told, if you sat around a table with ten sick hurting people and you all put your problems on the table and could trade your problems with any of them you wouldn’t want to trade. This man had a walker and was my age.  His liver was not working good so this was his only hope. I told him of my brother Rick and how his spirit was so connected with God. That Rick was the Salida, CO Santa.  He lived as a holy spririt man. Rick taught me to connect to people in the spirit. Before I went back to the room he let me pray with him. I prayed that we would have good news. As I walked into the room Patti was on the bed watching an old home movie. When I focused in on the screen I saw it was Rick.  He had baby Zechariah on his lap & he looked up at me. The Holy Spirit transcends time and space but that is a moment in time I will never forget. It was in October 22,1989 that I shot this video and now it was June 4, 2012 and Rick was alive speaking to me from a computer. He looks into the camera and said, ”Hi Mike, how you doing”. I answered the question. I am doing great brother Rick and started to cry. Patti looks at me and asks if I was ok? I said, "yes" and tell her about the man in the lobby. I back up the video and take the computer to the lobby. The man I had talked with was still waiting for the shuttle. I showed him what I just saw and introduce him to Santa Rick. He tells me, ”I think your brother is trying to tell us something. “ I think the Holy Spirit is telling us something and he moved through time and space to do it. As I get on the shuttle I see a  rather large man in a Hawaiian shirt a Rick Papp trademark as I depart I tell him how much I like his shirt. He smiles thanks me then nods and chuckles. It was perfect.

 I have a thing about raptors. I also have a guardian owls. I am in the examining room waiting for the doctor and picked up a Natural Wildlife magazine and read about pygmy Owls. 

It may not seem like a lot but I felt a comfort. The news was not what I had hoped to hear. I need to have another surgery to get a tissue sample to make absolutely certain I have no cancer. My new Dr. Olsen knows my old KU Dr. Girod. He is the same height as Dr. Girod only a bit older about 5'3".
I take comfort in the fact that size and intelligence might be related. I think the good news today was God has the answer. It will require faith in Him and that He will not give me anything I can’t handle.

When God is at work. (My letter to KU Med CEO Bob Page)

Dear Mr Bob Page,

I must apologize to you for misjudging KU Med Center because of a mistake they made with me. I saw a compassionate team of doctors and nurses that changed my heart. No pun intended. Shelley is going home with good news.

She has knowledge of the medication to take care of her high blood pressure and cholesterol. God gave her the right doctor. His name is Dr. David Wilson, the same name as Shelley's father. Right before she left, a nurse full of joy walked in and asked "is this the Shelley I know"? She, like me, is a client and friend. I love small world stories. Shelley tells me a story of her cousins Bill & Rob Senneff who are both hospital CEO’s and both went to KU. She was able to find them after being adopted as a child. They are all very close now. Then you have Teresa Hoskins, Shelley's nurse. Do you remember her? She told me how wonderful and kind you had been when you were a patient of hers, asking her to call you Bob. She said I told him, “yes  Mr. Page”. She was one of the most caring and joyful people. She told me how her father taught her to respect authority. She told me that her Dad had thyroid cancer when she was a teen and that Shawnee Mission Med screwed up and only took half the thyroid out. He then required a second surgery. He is now a cancer survivor.  I ran into a friend who I know her as “C”, short for Cecelia. She now works for KU as an interpreter and gets around quite well on four wheels. She has helped hundreds of head and neck injury patients. I will conclude with what Dave Wilson said, “we are all human but Dr. Girod has every bit as good of a team as I do and is a wonderful doctor. I could not have agreed more.

Sincerely,

Michael Johns

The Graciousness of Uncertanty

Brent Bays cancer foundation 5K/Race.

I was going to watch my son-in-law Isaac Rushing run in a 5K race today. I go on line to find out about this race. I see that it's a race for a cancer foundation.
Brent Bays foundation to be more exact and it says,
Fighting for those who are in the fight of their lives.
That would be me. I may still have time to run in this thing. I had been doing some walking in the last few weeks.... but running three miles? Then I think about pastor Tom who is running in a race this weekend and how I told him to keep it up. I need to take my own advice and at least try it. I print off the registration and fill it out, grab a bottle of carrot juice and head out the door. The place has a carnival like atmosphere with loud music and a guy making announcement as to when the race will start.
My race/fight started 23 days prior and will last the rest of my life. I see the table to register with a kind looking woman seated at it. She says,"do you want to run"? "Yes I do" and hand her my form that holds my entry fee and she hands me an envelop and a t-shirt. I then tell her I'm a cancer survivor and this is my first race. "How long has it been"? I feel the lump in my throat and it's not the cancer. I keep my composure and say, "I just found out a few weeks ago and have every confidence I will win this battle".  She said  "my daughter  had cancer and was 13 when we found out but with treatment is now14."
My eyes fill with tears but keep from over flowing. I watch hers do the same. All I can see is her face as I tell her that I believe in the power of prayer. I do too and will pray for you, she said. What's your daughters name, I asked.  Hannah Miller and I'm Deejo. I told her I'd pray for both Hannah and her. She tells me, "I also volunteer at the (Relay for Live)". She writes on the back of my envelope www.relayforlife.org. Maybe you can check that out too.
As I walk away the tears flow.  I was glad I was early and no one saw me crying. Kids and cancer are the most difficult thing to understand. Then I see Isaac in his big diesel truck wearing a bright green shirt.  As he pulls in he says,"I know your running". You talked to Shelby on the phone didn't you?
Then Laurie & Lindsay Rushing, Isaac's Mom and sister arrive.  When the car door opens I see a knee brace on Lindsay. This was one of the few times when soccer was not the reason for Lindsay being hurt. She had twisted it when she was training with her brother. I hand her my camera with complete confidence. She has taken lots of great picture and is good at it. We hear the call to our race and before I can think about it we are off. My music sets my pace and at the mile and a half mark I see a water station. Then I recognize a woman from the YMCA. She see me and says "you go, Mike!" It was just what I needed. Just after that I see Isaac coming the other way and he is flying. We touch hands as we pass and my energy returns again. I can do this as I run by the two mile mark. As I see the end in sight I start to dance/ run. I don't care what people might think of this crazy guy skipping towards the finish. I touch the pad and feel such gratitude. I head to my car and grab my carrot juice. After a quick drink I wait for others to come in. As they pass I cheer them on. Then I here come on Mom and see a woman with gray hair about my age headed for the finish. I will run the rest of the way with you mom. I want to tell you how nice it is to have people cheer you on in the race of life. It makes it even better when they are with you when you finish the race.

       




********** MALE 5K RUN AGE GROUP:  50 - 59 **********

Place Name                    S Age City               St Finish  Pace 

===== ======================= = === ================== == ======= =====

    1 Mike Mc Nulty           M  50 Gardner            KS   26:09  8:25

    2 Doug Adams              M  53                         28:42  9:15

    3 Michael R. Johns        M  56                         31:17 10:04

    4 John Henson             M  58                         34:05 10:59

    5 Ed Rodriguez            M  53                         38:03 12:15

    6 Scott Skalisky          M  51                         39:22 12:41

    7 Fred Lynch              M  50                         40:48 13:08

According to Vitamin Mary I'm cancer Free. NOT! YET!

Yesterday morning I spent on bee control in my neighborhood. I am the guy they call whenever a colony of bees is trespassing into a neighbors house. In this case we have two neighbors that have active bees. They are both great neighbors and we are so blessed to live in a neighborhood that is so close.
I love estate sales and the TV shows Antique Road Show & Pickers for me it's all about the hunt. So to it is with two of my neighbors. Cheryl who is married to Doug a pilot for Garmin and Lynn who is married to Mark a power plant engineer. We are always running into each other at sales and laughing about the crazy things we find. A few days ago Cheryl found a carved wood bear in a canoe when at a sale with her Mom and bought it as a gift for me. It was perfect and matched an owl that Shelby and Isaac gave me for Christmas.












 Yesterday I get an email from Lynn>
Michael...I'm sorry to bother you with this now...but if you could guide me about a problem I just recently discovered, BEES! They're big ones and they're swarming around my middle back patio. Do I call an exterminator or what? These are twice the size of regular honeybees. I would sure appreciate any information you could give me. Thanks, Lynn
Lynn is always doing nice things for us. On Saint Patrick's day Mark shows up with a cast iron pan full of Irish soda bread. The gift included the pan.









Mark was a Oklahoma State football lineman and is this huge happy guy from Strawberry Hill, a Croatian neighborhood in KC,KS. Lynn is this 5'3"happy woman who is always full of joy.  She shared the fact that she had cancer three times but she is now 12 years cancer free. We talked about how when you see people in a marriage go through this every moment is a joy and how sad it is to see others argue.
I stop at Chad and Sarah's before going to a mind over body healing session in Mission, KS. They are working from home so I stay just long enough to pee and give them hugs. I was early so I go into a herb/vitamin shop.
I asked the woman if she recommends anything for cancer. She said, "Mary, do you hear this?". An older woman with some kind of rock-crystal hanging around her neck comes to the front of the store. "How do you know you have cancer"?
I had a fine needle biopsy that tested positive for squamous cell carcinoma, I said. "You want me to check it for you"? Sure! She comes out with a box of bandaids and a white jar. This will take 30min you ok with that? Sure! She dips a finger into this brown goo and rubs it on my neck then she puts the bandaids over the goo. Two women came in and each bought five gal of alkaline water. I helped them load the magic water in the five gal bottles. Then the moment of truth came and Mary took off the bandaids. You see that? No cancer! "Is that right"? I asked. See what the paper says? "That's a 99% true test for cancer".  You need to go to a friend of mine ASAP who is a kinesiologist. I think she said,  "quackonym". He will tell you if it's true and  he only charges $200. I go to my energy healing appointment and get my chakra alined. This involves a woman named Vivian lightly running her hands above my body as I lay on a table and fall asleep. The falling asleep was my idea. Cost for the the vitamin shop with the cancer cure tea  $50 and my Vivian sleep session $50. The hole experience priceless.
I go back to the kids house to meet Patti for a benefit dinner. This is an annual event put on by my neck cancer support group.
Upon arrival we are greeted by Mary who is the director and Dorothy, my doctors nurse. I have been emailing Dorothy a few times with questions. She looks up and said" Hows my email buddy? I said, "I don't have cancer". She got a confused look on her face and then a smile as I told her the story of the vitamin shop. I hooked up with another John who had all the same symptoms even down to the same age when he began his journey. He was 6 years older now and cancer free. His wife Kim talked with Patti and they discovered an insurance connection.
This is the email that Dorothy sent to me yesterday and what I have to look forward to.>
Hi, Mike,

Sorry, I did not see your questions before now.  Kinda crazy around here.  There are no more procedures to be done before appt.  I have requested to have your pathology slides to be sent to KU for review.  The next step to find primary is to go to surgery.  I don't know if she has date for you yet, normally the surgeons don't schedule surgery until after they consult with patients.  No, I don't get tired of your emails, but  I may be a little slow in answering.  I had a work partner to share my job with, but she has taken another job, so I am doing it by myself.  Sorry, I was slow to respond.

Dorothy
.
>>> mike johns <wyckfordpond@gmail.com> 4/23/2012 4:01 AM >>>

Hi Dorothy,

It's Monday & time to breath in and breath out. 

This is the only thing you need to do today to live.

I see the Dr. Shnayder in a week from tomorrow. 

1. In that week can any other procedure be done to locate the primary tumor?

2. Is my name on her surgery calendar so I won't need to wait another three weeks for my vasectomy? HaHa 

3. Do you get tired of my emails on Monday? 

Sorry I am such a pain in the ass. 

I never have been good at the waiting. 

Have a good week.

Sincerely,

Mike

The Power of Healing

Up date on Tom P  the man in my first story. I stopped by his house to see him today. He had been back in the hospital again and had just got out yesterday. He still has not let anyone move into his house to help him. He may not make it out alive. Alcoholism is a hideous thing it take a the lives of thousands of people everyday. Caroline Myss lost a brother to it and so did Rick Papp my brother in law. Tomorrow I will go to my noon meeting at an AA club and listen to people that want to live. Many of them with over 20+ years. So why after so many years do we go? So that we might help others to stay sober and be reminded of what it was like for us. If you think you have a problem with drinking and have the desire to stop give me a call. (913) 961-3252


Psalm 103:2-5, "Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits-- who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's." Praying this for you Mike. Thanks Ben I LOVE YOU TOO !

My other sister from another mother & dad sent me a video link. 

This may or may not be the answer to the way some people heal. I take everything in, use what I need and disregard the rest. I have taken sugar out of my diet and coffee too.
That is not to say I won't ever eat a little desert with a cup of coffee now and then. There are a few absolutes I will never again do alcohol or cigarettes.

Time to go have a little family time, love to all. 

I think it is one of the best things I have ever heard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kGZfZsTYgo&feature=share