Participants of the November MS/Cancer self-help group were treated to the uplifting, spiritual words of 37-year colon cancer survivor and co-founder of CanCare of Houston Anne Turnage.
Anne also co-authored More Than You Dare to Ask: The First Year of Living With Cancer (John Knox Press) and Grace Keeps You Going: Spiritual Wisdom from Cancer Survivors (2001, Cokesburry Press) with her late husband Mac Turnage, a Presbyterian minister.
On the night of Anne's emergency surgery, 700 people were gathered at her husband's seminary for the Annual Lectures. As they joined in prayers for Anne, she was being diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer and given only a slight chance of survival. And so she began a course of experimental chemotherapy, that would continue 19 years.
Anne believes it was her doctor's faith in spiritual healing and the many uplifting stories of survival he shared with her that truly healed her. She listened when the man she considered a "shaman" told her to "step aside and let spirit take over." He encouraged her to get right back in to her same routine, doing the things that made her happy and connected to loved ones. Together, Anne and Mac set important short- and long-term goals and celebrated each and every one - whether over a simple hamburger or surrounded by hundreds of friends at a formal gathering.
Throughout her journey of survival, Anne was drawn to other cancer patients, realizing how helpful and healing it was to be able to share things with them she couldn't talk to anybody else about. She co-founded CanCare of Houston (www.cancare.org), along with Mac, to enable other patients to connect with one another and, as Anne calls it, "share their light." Cancer survivors volunteer for CanCare to provide one-on-one emotional support to those currently battling cancer. CanCare also matches family members of survivors with those of cancer patients and sends volunteers to area hospitals to partner with the medical team and help care for patients and family members
Visit cancare.org to learn more about the good work they do and connect with a volunteer survivor.
by Becki Hayes
