Dear Friends,
I first became aware of CONQUER magazine yesterday afternoon during an appointment with my oncologist. It is a wonderful magazine. After nearly 20 years serving as a pastor in the church, I am now working exclusively with people who have received a cancer diagnosis.
In my particular case, my petit seizures began in May 1990, but it was only after I had a grand mal seizure on November 10, 1990, that doctors found I had a tumor. They diagnosed it as a grade IV astrocytoma (a type of brain cancer) and gave me a prognosis of 6 to 12 months to live. It is important to note that 4 respected neurosurgeons agreed with the original diagnosis. Fortunately, they were wrong. A biopsy done by Dr. Allan Friedman, of Duke University, revealed a grade III anaplastic oligodendroglioma (a brain tumor). Because this is a slow-growing tumor, my life expectancy was increased to 3 to 5 years after surgery.
That was 26 years ago, and I am still going strong. I have endured 2 years of chemotherapy in the early 1990s, and again in 2013, and 30 radiation treatments in the spring of 2014. This is the inspiration for this ministry to others with cancer. After going through all the ups and downs of living with cancer for half of my life, I am in the unique position of offering firsthand hope and encouragement to others.
Thank you for the outreach your magazine is providing to others who are struggling with the emotional, spiritual, mental, and physical effects cancer has imposed on their lives.
Grace and peace,
Reverend Stephen Hollis Cobb
Richmond, VA
Cord of 3 Strands