Cancer, Courage, Christ

By June Chapko

Cancer Courage Christ: A Devotional for Breast Cancer Survivors, is an uplifting read for
Breast Cancer Survivors, and others who love and care about them.
June shares her own story of going through Breast Cancer during a pandemic.
Her touching moments of pain, love, and humor, will encourage other survivors.
She has included sixty devotionals derived from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, plus journaling prompts with each one.
Each devotional relates to her journey through treatments.
Other survivor's stories have been included in part three of this book, and each of their stories is unique.
This book would make a great gift for those going through a time such as this.

• Language: English
• Publisher: June Chapko
• Release date: Apr 4, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005742591

June Chapko

June Chapko, a transplanted Texan since 1958, resides in San Antonio with her husband, Nick and Shih Tzu puppy, Chai. She is a mom, grandmother and great-grandmother. She enjoys reading, quilting, and finding teacup treasures for her burgeoning collection.She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and AWSA (Advanced Writers and Speakers Association). June has written several Bible studies, many devotionals, and has been published in Mature Living, Quilt World Magazines and other publications.June has written two previous novels, The Estate Sale, published in 2018, and Legacy’s Path, published in 2019.In 2020, June co-authored a health and wellness Bible study with Joyce Ainsworth, Count it all Joy: A study in James, and a Devotional for Breast Cancer Survivors: Cancer Courage Christ, in 2021.June is active in her church women’s ministry, teaches a women’s Sunday school class, and loves to speak to women’s groups. June was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer in June of 2020, during a worldwide pandemic, and is an active member of two local breast cancer groups, Metro’s Pink Warriors and Overcomers Daughters of the King of Kings.

Book preview

Endorsements

"I found June’s Cancer, Courage, Christ to be an uplifting read for not only cancer patients but also for their support group. A great gift idea for those going through a time such as this."

—Judy Sheer Watters, author, freelance writer, and editor

June’s devotional touches deep into the heart and encourages you to find hope in the word of God. The daily wisdom and shared stories of others helps the reader know that they are not alone. If you have a loved one diagnosed with breast cancer, this devotional is an excellent resource to share with them.

—Genny Small, Founder & President Overcomers Daughters of the King of Kings

"This Devotional is encouraging and heartwarming as you walk through June’s battle with breast cancer with her. I wish this book had been available when I was walking the cancer journey with my sister some years ago. Cancer, Courage, Christ will renew your strength and encourage your soul. Gift a copy and bless someone living this battle and allow God, through June, to inspire them in their journey."

—Joyce Ainsworth, Author of Food, Freedom, and Finish Lines

A Time for Everything

There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NIV)

Contents

Acknowledgements

Endorsements

A Time for Everything

Introduction

Discovery

Chemotherapy

Surgery

Radiation

Recovery

Part Two Daily Devotionals

Day 1 - 10

Day 11 – 20

Day 21 – 30

Day 31 – 40

Day 41 – 50

Day 51 – 60

Part Three Survivor Testimonies

About the Author

Contact information

Introduction

No one wants cancer in her life, me included. I can’t recall a time when I ever thought it would bring joy into my life to go through cancer. As a teenager, I found out that my mom had breast cancer, but back then, in the ‘50’s, people didn’t know much about it or even talk about a woman’s B R E A S T out loud. So, when Mom had a mastectomy and the long recovery after Cobalt radiation, life continued as before. At least in my fifteen-year-old mind it did.

My mom never talked much about her ordeal although I saw pain on her face and weakness in her body. I had school and activities going, and we never discussed it. Mom recovered from the breast cancer, but the end of her marriage left her with emotional upheaval and scars which never healed underneath her smile. She smiled a lot.

I wish I had been older then. Perhaps I would have been more helpful or understanding. She went through that difficult trial basically alone, without a support team. She had the surgery at a military hospital and the options for reconstruction of her breast weren’t available at that time.

Many years later I embarked on my own cancer journey. It is my hope that reading about my experience will help you through your own journey—to find joy in the face of fear and obtain hope for the future.

Discovery

Who would have imagined a global pandemic? March 2020 seemed surreal as a new novel coronavirus circulated, frightened, and immobilized the world. People began foregoing annual tests and routine doctor visits. It was during this time when I did my breast self-exam that I felt a thickening on the left side. I opted to wait to see my doctor because I didn’t want to be exposed to some vicious virus going around that had everyone so concerned. I felt that it was a cyst perhaps and nothing to be overly concerned about. And yet…it nagged at me. I didn’t tell anyone. Until June.

Memories of my mom haunted me. She had kept her lump a secret for over a year before seeing a doctor. In May I made an appointment which then resulted in a series of tests, biopsies, ultrasounds, and bloodwork. I prayed relentlessly. A whirlwind of appointments drove the days like wind blowing pages of a calendar. I waited for what seemed like an eternity for results. Finally, on Wednesday, June 10th, the call came. It’s cancer. Once spoken it became as real as the knot in my stomach, the tears choking my throat, and finally the sobbing. I still had to tell my husband…my children…my friends. We had all prayed for it to be a cyst.

Looking back on those early days of discovery, I could very easily have wrestled with my faith and questioned God. Why? I prayed for a cyst, and it turns out to be cancer? Really, God? But, in the first week of discovery I remembered biblical heroes who questioned God.

Gideon, a man God declared a warrior and even called to save his people from the Midianites, wrestled with his faith, asking questions much like I had. If the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Did he think God had abandoned him? Did I? I only had to read more to know that God never abandons those who trust Him. Gideon completed his mission, led by God. I felt sure the Lord would do the same for me. Should I only trust God when things are going well? That’s easy. It takes courage to cry your heart out because of your circumstance and at the same time trust God for courage to go through it. But God…I love saying that. But God never abandons those who trust Him.

In the New Testament, I am reminded of Mary and Martha and their brother, Lazarus. When he became sick while Jesus was out of town, the sisters sent for Him. When Jesus didn’t show up right away (timing), the sisters wrestled with their faith accusing him, If you had been here, he wouldn’t have died. They had faith to believe in eternity but had doubts Jesus could save their brother today. We know Jesus raised Lazarus to life the same day. I’ve trusted Jesus with my eternal life, so I need to trust Him with my today life.

Worry is an aspect of discovering the presence of a lump (or any tumor). Its existence annoyed as I waited for test results to come in. I cried my worry out in sobs thinking of things I’ve yet to do, worrying I wouldn’t have time to complete the tasks God has given me. Then I recalled a verse my pastor quoted:

The Lord will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. (Isaiah 5:11)

If God called me to do something, He’d bring me through it. No matter what was ahead, I could believe that any and all problems I face in life I could depend on God to take me through it. He doesn’t go back on the promises He made. He never changes.

The one who calls you is faithful, and He will do it. 1 Thessalonians 5:24

I remembered the eight verses of Ecclesiastes 3 and realized how each verse applied to things I was experiencing. There truly is a time for everything and a season for every activity, even during my journey through breast cancer. Joy replaced my worry and gave me courage to get through the days and weeks ahead. God was preparing to bring much more joy into my life daily. I didn’t know it then, but I experienced it in so many different forms, far beyond what I could ever have imagined.

May 2020 brought my everyday life to a screeching halt. The knot in the pit of my stomach wouldn’t go away until I made the appointment to see my doctor. Memories of my mom delaying an exam many years ago finally prompted me to make the appointment. A diagnostic mammogram was ordered, along with an ultrasound on the first day of June. The doctor agreed it was something we needed to evaluate through a biopsy, both of the breast and lymph node. I had it done on a Friday (June 5th), so waiting over a weekend was torturous. It wasn’t until the tenth of June when I heard over the phone, It’s Cancer.

The knot in my stomach grew larger. Telling my husband was heart-wrenching. He held me, reassured me, and we cried as we clung to each other. His support and love would carry me, and I knew I needed to be stalwart for him as well. We were both committed to getting through this one step at a time, one appointment at a time. We agreed not to look down the road, but instead, we would take what each day brought and deal with it.

I shared the news with my daughters, one local and the other in Saudi Arabia. It crushed me to burden them with such news. I could only visualize their pain. We were in the middle of a world-wide pandemic and hugging Susan, who lives near me, couldn’t happen. She had two new grandbabies she was trying to help care for, not to mention seeking employment during the COVID crisis.

Crying in the arms of my daughter, Kathleen, was impossible. She lived in Saudi Arabia, thousands of miles away. No flights were allowed out. I know she felt devastated at not being able to be here to console, help or support me. Even so, we prayed and reassured one another over the phone that I was going to get through this and be stronger when it was over.

Telling extended family, close friends, and my precious church family drained what emotions I had left. I became overwhelmed at the outpouring of love and support that rained down on Nick and me. I cried much of the time, but most of my tears were joyful ones. The women’s ministry in my church gathered resources and paid the down payment for my chemotherapy. My daughter, Kathleen and son-in-law, Juan, set up payments to cover the remainder of the copay over six months. Prayers poured in from everywhere, even across the globe. My daughter in Saudi Arabia shared my news with friends in other countries and they in turn prayed individually, in study groups and in their churches. Facebook friends I haven’t met yet poured out their prayers for healing. Cards began arriving almost daily. God was showing up everywhere I was, filling my heart with overflowing joy.

In the middle of what began as overwhelming sadness I found myself in a season of joy. In my Bible I read Nehemiah 8:10, The joy of the Lord is my strength. If ever I needed strength this was the time, and as I rejoiced in the Lord, His strength began flowing not just through me but through others to me. Yes, I had cancer. No, I was not happy about it. But I could be joyful that in the midst of cancer I had the most powerful strength available—that of a loving God who surrounded me with His warriors and provided me with all I needed to be a survivor.

Chemotherapy

I anticipated chemotherapy with dread. Everything I read included vomiting as a potential side effect, along with a host of other unpleasant sounding things. Vomiting? Who likes that? Nobody. So, the thought of enduring it repeatedly throughout my chemo brought trepidation to my waking hours. In a survivors 3-ring notebook given to me at the oncologist’s office, it said that not everyone experiences nausea, but that didn’t comfort me much.

I had my med port put in on June 25th. I chose the port on the advice of my surgeon because I trusted her. Traditionally, my veins didn’t do well with IVs, and I disliked the process immensely. I have always been squeamish of needles and my pain threshold is low. I went to the hospital on a Thursday during the pandemic and fortunately, they allowed my husband to be there. Some hospitals weren’t permitting anyone