Woman believes she’s healed from cancer
Posted on Wednesday, March 29, 2006
On Dec. 15, 2005, Cindy Griffith had difficulty breathing while at work.
A trip to the St. Mary’s Hospital emergency room revealed that she had cancer, and that the disease had spread from her breast and into her lungs. Until the moment that doctors told her she had cancer, she didn’t know she was ill. "They didn’t expect me to live,"she said of the diagnosis of the stage-four cancer that invaded her body. But it has now been more than three months since that fateful day at the hospital, and a visit with Griffith reveals that she seems to be doing well. She has experienced no pain and has stopped using the portable oxygen bottle that doctors gave her to help her breathe easier. "They can’t understand why I have no pain,"she said. "They can’t believe I’m doing so well. They said I’d be in the grave by now."
How can it be that Griffith is doing so well in the wake of such life-altering news? "I keep trusting the Lord that I am being healed. I feel that I’m getting better every day,"she explained.
Dr. Stephan Rosenfeld, an oncologist with the Highlands Oncology Group, told The Hometown News that stage four-cancer means the disease is incurable and has spread from one organ to another.
But he agreed that Griffith is doing well and that her faith gives her a peace that causes her not to worry about the disease. He added this allows her to direct more energy toward fighting the cancer.
Rosenfeld also called Griffith "a fighter"and said her faith and strong will allowed her to accept the diagnosis.
Griffith seems to downplay any mention of her ability to fight the disease and gives all of the credit to how good she feels to God.
At a service at the First United Pentecostal Church of Rogers, Griffith said the Lord healed her. "I believe the Lord is healing me one day at a time,"Griffith stressed.
Her pastor, Russell Hamby, said a missionary who serves in Africa was visiting the Rogers church at a recent service. He shared a story about how he prayed for a woman on the mission trial and she was healed.
Hamby said Griffith’s is a special story. "Now I’m telling you that I was raised in the church and this is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen,"Hamby said.
At the end of the service, Hamby said people wanting prayer for healing were invited to the church’s alter and Griffith came forward. "She was standing there with her oxygen bottle when he prayed for her. She just crumpled back into the arms of God. After a little while she got up,"Hamby said. "I was slain in the spirit,"Griffith explained. "I felt the presence of the Lord, and I was rejoicing in the Lord."
That night at the evening service, the crowd worshipped to the music the church’s band played.
While the band played "When the Saints Go Marching In"there was a real moving of the Holy Spirit, Hamby said. The crowd was clapping and worshipping with the music. "All of a sudden, Cindy Griffith, of all people, came marching forward to the music,"Hamby said. "She had never made a peep in church. She had her oxygen bottle in a sling and she was dancing down the aisle. I had to look twice and it was Cindy.
And when she got down to the front of the church, the expression on her face was the most brilliant calmness I’ve ever seen. It was just jubilation, like someone who’d received something they didn’t ever expect."
Hamby said he was concerned for Griffith and came to her. "She was dancing and told me ‘ the Lord commanded me to shout... All I know that God commanded me to shout. ’"
Hamby said this is the last time he saw Griffith using the oxygen and that the color had returned to her face. "She told me she doesn’t need it any more,"he said. "She hasn’t used it since that night.
"I know that God does honor faith," the pastor said."This is one of the most phenomenal things I’ve ever seen in my whole life. "
Rosenfeld couldn’t talk about Griffith’s specific condition because of federal privacy laws. He did stress, however, the importance of getting regular physicals and women having regular breast examinations.
"Lung cancer is the number one killer of women," he said."And it is almost completely preventable. "
The doctor said when a cancer is found in its early stages, there is a much greater chance of a patient’s recovery. He again stressed the importance of every person having an annual physical. He also said that women over 40 should have a mammogram each year.
Griffith is receiving chemotherapy each month but reports she has had little problems because of the treatment.
She does believe the medical treatment is part of the healing process.
She likes to get out into the yard of her south Rogers home and walk some and enjoy each day. She also likes to catch a ride to church with one of her friends. These days, her life is peaceful and she seems carefree.
"I get up every morning and thank the Lord for the day and for healing me," Griffith said.
Managing editor Michael Roark can be reached by e-mail at michaelr@nwanews. com.
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