Jim: This episode is part of the Top 10 Tour: 100K Strong, our way of celebrating 100,000 downloads by revisiting the conversations our community loves most. New episodes are coming in September, so make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss a thing. Now, enjoy this episode.
Brad: Brad's path has been laid out for 57 years before I was, you know, before I was even born.
So it's, um, we- we've really, we've really learned to trust in him and, and give it to God. And w- again, we still, you know, we're human. There's still concerns and the devil tries to- Mm-hmm ... prick us sometimes. But, uh, it's, it's just amazing the work that God's done in our life. And it's, I tell people it sounds crazy, but I tell people that cancer's the best thing that's, that ever happened to me really.
Just- Mm-hmm ... from a spiritual perspective and just was always a good guy, but it's just made me a better man, a better, a better friend, a better father, a better grandfather.
Announcer: You're listening to the I Am Healing Strong podcast, a part of the Healing Strong organization, the number one network of holistic cancer support groups in the world.
Each week, we bring you stories of hope, real stories that will encourage you as you navigate your way on your own journey to health. Now here's your host, stage 4 cancer thriver, Jim Mann.
Jim: Today I have a lovely little couple. They're sharing headphones, so you know they're, they're happily married. We have Becky and Brad with us.
How are you doing?
Brad: Doing great. Doing good. Okay.
Jim: That last name is Corley. Corley, is that how you say it?
Brad: That's correct.
Jim: Look at me. Well, it's a simple name. I butcher it if it's more than two syllables, so- Uh, uh huh ... you made it just under the wire. Huh. Well, you have a, you have a great story. Um, Brad, of course, you're the one who got the diagnosis, but before that you guys were kind of on a trail of eating healthy and doing the right things.
Brad: Yeah, we had started, uh, just a, a few months... We've kind of been one to roller coaster, try to eat healthy and then fall to the- Mm-hmm ... wayside, and, but yeah, prior to, a few months prior to that we had decided that we, uh, we were gonna change some lifestyles and eat healthier and, and I think that was kinda God's way of preparing us.
We had made up our minds this time we were gonna stick with it, doing some intermittent fasting and trying to eat healthier and exercise. So I think it was God preparing us for what, what, what laid ahead that we were w- unaware of.
Jim: Yeah. What made you jump on that train?
Becky: I would say I, w- I don't know, honestly.
I started, um, just researching different, um, I think it started with deodorant, honestly. Oh. And crazy as that is, but I was like d- you know, all this deodorant's so toxic for you and, you know, reading all these things, and so I thought, "Well, I'm gonna find a better, better way, you know, a better alternative."
And so I started looking at some different companies and, and trying to find some non-toxic type personal care items and, and th- and that led to, like- Everything else, laundry soap and, you know, cleaning products and all these different things. And I remember back at, like f- four months before Brad's diagnosis, um, I actually stopped using deodorant, like regular deodorant, and he was like, "You are nuts."
I mean, we live in South Alabama, right on the water, and it is hot in August, okay? So he was like, "You're crazy." He's like, "Well, I don't even know what you're doing." And he was like, "I'll never not wear deodorant." And so we, I went through this whole little detox thing and, and I was listening to this, um, woman that I follow, and it's her company that, you know, kind of got me in all this, and she had a juicing live, you know, like a Facebook Live, and she was juicing, like, I don't know, some carrots and stuff.
And I was like, "Well, that's really weird. Why would she, why would she even do that?" Right. Didn't think anything else o- about it, went on about my day, and then, you know, the r- the rest of the story continues on later, right? Yeah. But yeah, so I stopped using deodorant. He thought I was nuts, and, um-
Brad: Another thing for me was just sick of the, the every fad diet that came along.
I would drop some weight, felt a little healthier, and then I would gain all that back plus five or six more pounds, you know, and just- Yeah ... do the, do the same thing back and forth. I was actually gotten up to almost 240, a little over 240 pounds, uh, just prior to my diagnosis. So it was, uh, I'm way too short to weigh 240 pounds.
I was miserable.
Jim: I've always had the opposite problem, and people don't like me for it, but I could never gain a pound. I know it's, most people don't see that as a problem, but it is when you're a guy. You're scrawny all through school and you're like, you wanna gain something. Yeah. But what can I say? This is not about me.
Anyway, uh- ... your diagnosis isn't, wasn't that long ago. How did that come about?
Brad: Well, I had, um, it was actually December the 10th of 2021 when, when I was officially diagnosed. Um, and ironically, that was one day after I retired from 38 and a half years of employment with the same company on December the 9th, so-
Jim: Wow.
Brad: happy, happy retirement the next day. Um-
Jim: Yeah ...
Brad: we were, um- We were in Savannah, Georgia. I was, our, our company had a plant in Savannah. I had been doing some consultant work there and, and we were, um, we were working there that week and had ca- left early on Thursday to come home to get the, to get the results from the, the biopsy on that, that Friday.
Um, and I had, had been having some issues. My PSA had been, had been increasing a little bit earlier in the year. A urologist was treating me for an infection and had told me several times, you know, "Hey Brad, we, we gotta figure out what's going on, but it's a, it's a one in 100 chance that you have cancer."
Several times had told me that. Even after the biopsy with the ultrasound-driven biopsy- Hmm ... he said, "It's just..." He said, "We'll get the results, we'll figure out what's going on, but it's, again, it's a, uh, it's, it's not cancer. One in 100 chance." So we felt pretty good with it. You know, those are pretty good odds,
Jim: Yeah.
Brad: But we got the, uh, we had the appointment scheduled for that Friday, and we drove back and, and When we went, went to the appointment, the, the doctor walked in, it was just kinda one of those things you could, you could see it all over his face. You know, he said, "Uh, don't, don't know what to say." He said, "You're, you're that one.
You know, I told you a one in 100 chance- Yeah ... but unfortunately you're that one, and it's, it's not good." You know, he, uh, told us that it was a Gleason score of nine, giving us... Not knowing a lot what all that, you know, all that ver- verbiage meant, what the, um, but he told us that, um, he wanted to schedule bone scans as quick as possible, which, you know, all that scared us and- Mm-hmm
it was be- you know, that being a Friday, the bone scans were, could not be scheduled until, till that Monday. So it was a long weekend, you know, just trying to, trying to, uh, take in everything that, that he told us and just thinking what, you know, what the future held and how do we tell our kids. So, so we packed up, uh, we have a hunting camp just north of us, and, uh, we packed up that Friday when we got back from the doctor and just said we're gonna spend the, just spend the weekend at the hunting camp just to kinda regroup and see how, you know, how we're gonna tell the kids, what does all this mean.
You know, we have, we have seven children, so we, we, um- Mm ... at the time of diagnosis, we had four grandkids and, uh, we now have, we now have nine, and number 10 is on the way this Thursday- Wow ... and number 11 in August, so it's, uh, we have a big family, so.
Jim: Man.
Brad: But we're trying to figure out how to tell them, so we just, we spent the weekend there just, just loving on each other, and lots of tears, you know, lots of crying, lots of hugging, learn, even tried to do some laughing and, um...
So we had the, uh, we came back and, uh, for the bone scan on Monday, and the, um... It's kind of a roller coaster ride. You know, we had gotten that diagnosis on Friday, and then Monday we did the bone scans, and the, the bone scans were clear, so, you know, we were feeling, we were feeling great again. Again, not knowing a lot about prostate cancer, and um, we were referred us to a urologist, uh, after the scans were done and, um, that had treated us and told us we would be going to, to New Orleans to be treated there, so.
We went and met with, met with him and, uh, that's kinda where he gave us the details of what a Gleason score stage four, uh, cancer meant. So that's kinda, kinda the story.
Becky: But before, before that, you didn't let me tell that part. Like, when we came home from the hunting camp, um, I made him stop. We s- he s- he ha- he stopped at Bed Bath & Beyond and we bought a juicer.
Oh, juicer, yeah. And I juiced carrots for the first time on Sunday, and he drank carrots
Brad: on Sunday.
Becky: And
Brad: then drank it, have drank it, probably can count- Every
Becky: day since ...
Brad: probably can count on my hands the days that I've missed in over two and a half years. Yeah, so.
Becky: Because I remembered- Wow ... and that was such a God thing, that I saw that crazy woman juicing some carrots back in August.
And I remembered, and I, that was, like, Friday. I, on the w- like, I was, the first thing I was searching for, I was going back through, you know, Facebook. I'm like, "Oh my gosh, I know I saw this woman j- you know, juicing these carrots," and it was because Chris Beat Cancer told her to do that. And I'm like, "I don't know what that is, but I'm gonna find out."
So I, I found it and watched it again, and then I looked up Chris Beat Cancer and Square One and we, you know, brought, dove into that program immediately. And when I told him he was gonna drink some carrot juice, he was like, "You're nuts." And I'm like, "You're gonna drink it, and it's gonna be good." And so, um, so yeah.
So he did on Sunday and just about every day since.
Jim: Isn't it weird how sweet the carrots are?
Brad: Crazy. Oh, it's good. Yeah, yeah. It's funny, I, I drank so much every time I would go to, again, we- our doctor's in New Orleans and we live in Mobile. It's about an hour and 45 minutes away, so.
Jim: Hm.
Brad: But every appointment, it, usually without fail, if I had something done, people would ask me, said, "You're, you're mighty orange.
Is there anything wrong with your liver?" I said, "No, I just drink a lot of carrot juice."
Becky: And in New Orleans they say it like, "What's wrong with your liver?" Yeah.
Jim: Yes. Before you got this diagnosis, obviously you were, uh, getting ready for retirement. And this probably wasn't in your plans. What, what, what were you planning on doing?
Traveling or- We
Brad: were, we were really living the, living the American dream. You know, I was, I was, um, 57 years old and-
Jim: Wow ...
Brad: my wife had told me that I could retire, so I mean, how, it doesn't get any better than that. You know, we had, um, a year prior to that in 2020, we had bought our dream home. We live on the Gulf Coast.
So we had bought our, our dream home on the water, on a river that I fished in all my life as a kid. So it was just, uh, like I said, living the dream. You know, this is where we knew we were gonna live and raise k- k- not raise kids, they were all grown, but just have a- Yeah ... place on the water for the grandkids to enjoy.
So that, that was the plan before.
Becky: Fish every day.
Brad: Fish every day, yeah.
Jim: Yeah, you had it all worked out. But-
Becky: Yep ...
Jim: yeah, somehow I think God might've known something was coming. You think?
Becky: Yeah. Yes. Absolutely.
Brad: Absolutely.
Becky: You know, one of my favorite stories, and we told our, our Healing Strong group this from the very beginning, and I'll probably get emotional thinking about it, but when we moved here, I've always loved...
My grandpa had a big garden and all these fruit trees and all these things in, in their, in their, um, in their yard when I was little. And when we m- when we bought this house, I knew it was the one because it had, was it four? Four different fruit trees. We had a lime tree, a lemon tree, a kumquat tree, and a satsuma tree, and I'm like, oh my gosh, this is amazing.
And the kumquats, like, I didn't even know what that was. Like, I, this little bitty orange-looking thing, but we tried to eat it. It was terrible. I'm like- Yeah ... what is this? You know, I don't w- even want that. Um, but when we, when we moved in and we had all these fruits and, you know, I was just so em- enamored by them.
I thought it was the coolest thing ever. Well, in, you know, in December when, you know, he got diagnosed and we started juicing all these carrots, we started juicing kumquats. And here- Hm ... I didn't even know what a kumquat was, but God did, and he put it in our yard. Yeah. How many years ago did he put that kumquat tree there so that it would be there, you know, when we needed it?
And it was just, I still get emotional thinking about that, but, um-
Jim: Yeah ...
Becky: it's pretty- Pretty, a pretty big sign for sure
Jim: When things taste kind of bitter or not so good, usually that means it's packed full of, uh, vitamins or something nutritional that your body needs that we've avoided because it didn't taste right for us.
Yeah. It wasn't sugary enough, right?
Becky: Right. Right. Yeah. Yep. They're very bitter. Yes. And it's just weird to me that you eat the whole thing, like the peel and all. That's just weird, so yeah.
Jim: And what was that fourth tree you said?
Becky: Uh, a Satsuma tree. It's like a little, uh, kind of like a mandarin orange. Real easy to peel.
Okay. Yeah.
Jim: All right. Yeah. I didn't know what that was either.
Becky: Yeah. Yeah. They're very, um, very, very prominent here where we live, so.
Jim: Oh, okay.
Becky: I knew what that one was.
Jim: Now, now you all grew up in the area you said?
Brad: Yeah, I've lived in Mobile all my life.
Jim: Yeah. You can't tell by the accent. I'm just kidding. And I totally get what you're talking about, 'cause after I got my di- diagnosis and then I met with the surgeon, 'cause, you know, again, they said, "You gotta meet with the surgeon, like, right away."
I'm like, am I, am I gonna die, like, today? But that's what, how they made me feel. And, uh, according to the surgeon and the doctor, the oncologist, you know, I only had a month or two to live, so it was close to that. But after we saw the surgeon and, and, uh, they had panic in their faces, which is never good to see that in a doctor.
But I remember going out to eat breakfast with my wife, and it just, it was hard to keep the emotions intact. You know, it just- thinking, okay, is this, it was September, I thought, I'm apparently not gonna make it till Christmas, and it was just a whirlwind of emotions and everything, and the, everything fades to the background, you know.
And I'm trying not to cry in a restaurant, but we had dri- driven separately, and so I went off in my Jeep, which has the tinted windows, thank God, and just cried like a little baby.
Brad: Yeah.
Jim: And I'm not a crier much at all, so that was, it was gut-wrenching, 'cause it's a, it's a punch in the gut, you know? And I know that's pretty much what you went through at your hunting camp, right?
Brad: Yeah, and it's, it's... You know, and even for, I, I would say two or three months, you know, we, we had our bad days. But it, again, it's how God works, and never, not one time was if I was having a bad day, Becky was having a good day. You know, she could pick me up. If she was having a bad day, it was just one of those days I was having a great day.
So it was just amazing how God worked through that, through that period of time where it was. It was tough. It wa- it was a struggle. But we're, thank God we're, we're over that and completely put it in God's hands. You know- Yeah ... one of our favorite verses is Psalms 119:6. 1, 139:16. 139:16. Yeah.
That, um, you know, God knew, God knew the story before we were ever, you know, ever came out of the womb, God knew. So we, it ju- that just helps us to, to put it in His hands. There's, there's, uh, Brad's path is laid out, has been laid out for 57 years before I was the, you know, before I was even born. So it's, um, we, we've really, we've really learned to trust in Him and, and give it to God.
And w- again, we still, you know, we're human. There's still concerns, and the devil tries- Mm-hmm ... to prick us sometimes. But, uh, it's, it's just amazing the work that God's done in our life. And it's, I tell people it sounds crazy, but I tell people that cancer's the best thing that's, that ever happened to me, really.
Just- Mm-hmm ... from a spiritual perspective, and just was always a good guy, but it's just made me a better man, a better, a better friend, a better father, a better grandfather, so.
Announcer: Right.
Becky: And I would say, you know, those first several months, we, you know, 'cause we did change, change our diet completely, and we started eating, you know, raw, raw fruits and vegetables, and no animal products whatsoever, and just jumped right in.
And I think that probably helped Also, but we definitely made a choice to focus on gratitude. Like, once we got past that initial, "Oh my gosh," you know, e- 'cause the oncologist had told him, you know, "You've got, you know, three to seven years, basically." And, and he said- Mm-hmm ... "You're, you're stage four prostate cancer.
Y- you know, it's not, it's, it's not looking good. It's never gonna be cured. There's not really a whole lot we can do. We're gonna do this, but, you know, just, just know that, you know, it's, you know, average three to seven years." And, um, so once we got past that initial fear and we made the choice to start being grateful every single morning, like, that's how we started every single day.
You know, we're thankful for this and, and this, and this. And, and I think that, you know, we, we started inching our way towards more hope than fear. And, and, and I think that probably fruits and vegetables had a part in that too because our bra- I mean, our brain chemistry changed. You know? When we- Mm-hmm
because we, we had, you know, made it a point to, you know, kind of try to change our, our lifestyle, but we went hardcore on December the 12th and, you know, didn't, haven't looked back since. And people, you know, think we're nuts still probably, but that's okay. We don't, we don't really mind that at all. But, um, but yeah, I think that it's, it's very, it's life-changing, it's life-altering.
And if you, um I, I, which I don't really wanna say embrace, but if you embrace it and, and make choices, you know, I think that God has a plan for each of us, and he has a purpose for each of us, and he equips you to fulfill that purpose, you know, for that he has called you for. And so, you know, we, our motto is that we are gonna do everything that we can do, w- you know, to, to make our bodies as healthy as possible so that we can live out every single day, you know, in his service and, and not miss one thing that he had planned for us.
You know, that's our, that's our goal is we wanna be able t- to participate in every single thing that he has for us, and, um, and we gotta be healthy to be able to do that. So we make better choices now.
Jim: Becky, you have a terrible attitude.
Yeah. That, that is, that's amazing. I always said, you know, before cancer, everything is in black and white, and after cancer it just turns into color 'cause you're, like you said, you become grateful for things. I remember sitting in my, uh, car going to work. I thought, "Oh, thank you Lord for this car with the heat in it, you know, thank you for the job I'm going to, thank you for this house.
It's more than, you know, I deserve." Yeah. And you just, yeah, you appreciate every second, you know? You do. You wanna kiss your kids more. I don't know if they like it as much, but still, you appreciate them. Um- That's
Announcer: right ...
Jim: even the dogs. I don't kick the dogs anymore. I'm just kidding. I never did. But anyway, sometimes they needed it.
Cancer is like a Goliath to us, but to God it's not even a gnat. I mean, it's-
Becky: Yep ...
Jim: it just means your life's out of balance. The way he created you, y- Yeah ... something's out of balance, and he will help you get it back in.
Becky: Yeah.
Jim: Um.
Becky: That's
Jim: right. Now, what... The doctors, what did they want you to do?
Brad: Dr. Delacroix in New Orleans, the, the physician that I was, the specialist that I see now, he, um, put me on hormone treatment.
Jim: Okay.
Brad: And, um, told me that surgery, surgery was not an option 'cause it- Okay ... had metastasized to the, the distant lymph nodes, so that, that was not an option. I did end up having surgery as part of an MD Anderson, a clinical trial, so they did remove my prostate, but it was, uh, again, he made it clear that this was not a, you know, a curable disease, that it was treatable, but not curable through surgery
Jim: Okay
Becky: And we, we very much, I probably very much am a thorn in his side.
Um, and I think that he has a, a love-hate relationship with me for sure. He loves Brad, 'cause everybody loves Brad. But I ask a lot of questions, and I ask hard questions, and I tell him things. You know, I tell him what we're doing, and I tell him that it's making a difference, and he's like, "Well," you know, it's just, he said, "It's not, it's not gonna change anything."
And I'm like, "It's absolutely gonna change things." Like, us eating, him eating this is going to make a difference in him. And he, I think our la- I think your last appointment in December, um, he, he even said, he's like, "You know," he's like, I, he said, "I don't ever wanna admit it," but he's like, he said, "You're," he said, "What you're doing is really, really making a difference."
And he, and he, so he finally is kinda coming around a little bit even though he doesn't like to admit it. Oh, yeah. He's, um, he, he is a little bit, so. Wow.
Brad: He's asking a lot of questions about the, about the juicing, and, I mean, you can tell before he was just, "Hey, I'm an oncologist. I, you know, you can do whatever you wanna do," but now I think we've definitely convinced him that there is, there is other alternatives.
Jim: Yeah, that's just so crazy to me still to this day that doctors, as smart as they are, I mean, they're trained a certain way, I understand that part, and they can only do a certain amount of stuff 'cause their hands are tied as far as, you know, they can't prescribe carrots to you.
Announcer: Right.
Jim: They'd get in trouble.
But- Yep ... but they, they should at least understand how important nutrition is.
Announcer: Yeah.
Jim: Yep. And some of them think it doesn't matter at all, which I'm like, come on, a third grader knows better than that.
Becky: Yeah. Yeah. And I told him, too, which he thinks I'm crazy I'm sure, but, you know, and that's one of the things that we've done from the beginning.
We, we pray for him all the time. Like, we pray for him all the time. And, and I've- Right ... told him, I'm like, "You know, God has told me Brad's not gonna die from prostate cancer." And he reminds me of that more than I... I only told him once, and he reminds me. Sometimes when we're talking he said, "Well, you know, you know, you, you told me that God told you Brad's not gonna die from prostate cancer."
I'm like, "You're right. He's not." And so, and he, so he's listening even if he doesn't wanna act like he listens to me and to us, he does. And, and I think that, you know, God is working in his life as well, and, you know, for whatever that means- Yeah ... um, we pray for him all the time 'cause, yeah, why wouldn't we?
Jim: That's right. So Brad, how are you doing today?
Brad: Doing well. And, you know, that's another thing that he mentions. He, he, he brags about that, how, how well I look, you know, because, uh, as I told you earlier in the podcast that, um, prior to my diagnosis I'd weighed about 240 pounds and-
Jim: Yeah ...
Brad: one of the things he told me with the hormone treatment, that I would gain weight, that, you know, I wouldn't have any energy, and I'm currently weigh about 170 and just far, I mean, have plenty of energy even on the hormone treatment, so I, I feel great.
Jim: Wow. You look fantastic
Brad: Thank you
Jim: Of course, I didn't see you before, but you know, you look great
Brad: We have some before and after pictures that we, we've shared with our, with our, uh, Healing Strong group. They were like, "I, I don't... That, that has to- I don't believe those pictures are true." They think that we somehow have made those up.
Becky: Super. And he did tell us in, um, June of last year after his... He has- he's got scans and everything, um, usually in June. Mm-hmm. And after those scans last June, he told, um, he told Brad that if he didn't know he had cancer, he would not know that he had cancer. So he wouldn't actually... So then I, of course, pushed him.
I'm like, "So does that mean you're telling us that he has no evidence of disease?" And he kind of chuckled, and he's like, "Yes, if you'd like to re- for me to refer to it like that, I will. He has no evidence of disease." And I said, "Well, thank you very much. I would like that."
Jim: Yes. That's funny. You're like my wife.
Becky: Yeah.
Brad: Yeah, my doctor visits are very entertaining. I would almost love to video one of our, one of our meetings.
Jim: Yeah. I'm, I'm r- like real compliant. "Okay, whatever." And my wife is, "No, no, no." Mm-hmm. She's coming out with questions and-
Brad: Yeah ...
Jim: which I'm glad. I'm glad I married her. It's pretty good.
Brad: I can say the same thing.
Jim: Yeah. Scoring some points there. That's good. Make sure my wife listens to this podcast.
Becky: That's right.
Jim: Like most people, you heard about Healing Strong through Chris Wark and Square One. Uh, we really- Yep ... we really like Chris. He's, he is our gatekeeper. But I think I read, like me, you looked for a Healing Strong group and there wasn't any, so you felt obligated, didn't you, to start one?
Becky: Yeah. I, I s- I, I'm the one who brought it up initially with Brad, and I had been thinking about it, 'cause after I saw it and kinda looked at it, and there's not a, you know, not a group here and, and I'm not- Mm-hmm ... I didn't really wanna join an online one. That just wasn't something that was interesting to me, and I thought, you know, we really You know, maybe you should do this, and then, you know, I'm like, "But gosh, you know, it's just too much.
It's too much. I can't do that." And so, you know, prayed about it and, you know, just kind of put it on the back burner for months, several months, and then brought it up. After a couple months, I brought it up to Brad. I'm like, "I really feel like I, I have to do this." And I said, "I don't know if you wanna be, you know, involved with it or not, or, you know, if you wanna help or you don't wanna help, but I, I absolutely feel like I have to do this, and I don't know what it means yet, but I'm gonna figure it out, and if you wanna help, you can help too."
And so, um, so yeah. So then we... I looked into it a little bit more and just signed up and, um, then I talked to Janet, who is an amazing person and, and they actually have a, a house, uh, down here, like not even 30 minutes from, from us that they vacation at sometimes. Mm-hmm. And so we got to meet with them very early on, um, well before our first meeting and, um, so yeah.
And it's been such a blessing. I think that the... Just, you know, everything kind of lined up and we're able to meet in our church and, you know, the people that are coming are just precious and we just learn so much and it's just, it's been, it's been fun. It really has been.
Jim: Yeah. Do you feel like the people in your group, which is so weird to me that it's a group full of people that are, you know, battling cancer, going on a journey.
You would think it'd be a lot of depressing people, but I mean, ours is almost like a party.
Brad: Yeah.
Jim: Uh- It's- ... everyone's happy and they're, they're learning from each other and they're talking about, you know, what they're doing and, and they get encouraged by other people and they leave, you know... Sometimes I have to, like, get them out of the parking lot 'cause they're just yakking and talking with each other.
I thought, "Do you remember you have cancer? You know, get depressed." It's, it is such a, it's such a, a great thing to have a support group like that. And even if everyone's got cancer, like I'm in the group and I don't have cancer anymore, which I'm, I'm prefer it that way, but most of the people in my group still have cancer, but yet, you know, they're, they're so uplifting and they're encouraging to each other and, and it's almost like, eh, I have a cold.
It's no big deal. Is that... Do you find that in your group also?
Brad: Yeah. We're... And again, we're relatively new. We've met- Mm-hmm ... we started in October and so we've met four or five times. We didn't have a meeting in December. Yeah. But yeah, we have formed a, we've formed a family, which we usually have between 12 and 15 there that, but it's just again, just like a already that bond is just like a family and it, it has been great.
But we, one unique thing with ours, or may not be unique, but um- A lot of our members, probably about half of ours, do not have cancer or any chronic illness, just want to be proactive. And that's been- Yeah ... that's been really fun to work with them and just tell our story and, and share with them, and it's just been amazing to see some of the changes that they've made and are, are trying to be, again, proactive to prevent something, uh, down the road in, in their lives.
So that's been, been really uplifting for us.
Jim: Right. Now, I know someone's listening to this podcast now, and they have just gotten a diagnosis and, you know, and you know that feeling. You know? You've just been punched in the gut, and you have no idea what the future holds. You, you don't... It looks kind of grim.
What would you say to those people right now?
Brad: Totally put it in God's hands, that it, God, God, again, like we talked about, God knew Brad's path, Brad's plan before I was ever put on this earth. So that we hold onto that promise knowing that he... Again, we pray for our healing. We, and, and we kind of be careful with our, with our prayers because our healing was taken, it was taken care of on, on Calvary.
You know, that, that- Mm-hmm ... the stripes on His back was for our healing. So I don't wanna pray God to heal me. That's already been done. I pr- for our prayer to be that we have faith to believe that our healing is gonna take place. So I would encourage them to, to make that their prayer, to give, God give me the faith to believe that I'm gonna be healed, and God give me the strength to do the, to make the changes that...
You know, I don't think that we can just trust in Him for healing because He puts things like Healing Strong, Chris Wart, uh, in our, in, in our lives to know that we do the right things. We make changes and lifestyle changes that can, that can help, that can heal, that can prevent disease.
Becky: Right. And I would add to that, surround yourself with friends who have a strong faith and who will believe for you.
Like, I think that having a group of, of people, family, friends, whoever, Healing Strong group, um, that will pray for you and that will believe when you yourself have a hard time believing. Um, you know, surround yourself with, with those, those friends that are, are, are able to pray you through.
Jim: Yeah. Like a Healing Strong group.
Becky: That's right.
Brad: That's it. That will to live, I know that it's, it's talked about a lot in Healing Strong, that that's important.
Becky: Mm-hmm.
Brad: That find something that, you know, again, we have, we have a lot to live for with our big family. Again, seven children and- Right ... soon to be 11 grandkids, so we have a lot to live for.
Everybody doesn't have that large family, but there's something in their life that can be that will to live, that fight to live, that every day wake up and, God, give me the strength to fight another day.
Jim: I know most of us, you know, we want God to just heal us instantly, like He's our genie. We just gonna rub the, maybe rub the Bible and He'll come out and ask us whatever we want and it happens, but I, I guess our prayer should be more like, "What do I need to learn from this?"
You know, "Why is this in my life?" Not, you know, "Hey, get rid of it so I can just keep going the way I was going." Obviously, He doesn't put the cancer in there, but He knows why it's there, what we did or didn't do that caused it to be there and, and, uh, 'cause, you know, we all have the potential to have cancer.
We all have cancerous cells in us.
Brad: Yeah.
Jim: It's just, you know, do we let them get out of control? And, uh, I know, and I know it's, it's the same with you, but, you know, God just changed my life. He's given me a different perspective and, and I too was a good little fella. I never did anything wrong. I'm almost perfect.
Okay, maybe not quite. But, you know, I was a good little kid. You know, I never, I never joined a gang, never killed anybody, let's put it that way.
Becky: I mean, there you go.
Jim: Yeah. What, what, how much better can I be? But yeah, once I got that cancer and it kinda, it kinda shakes your, uh, your perspective, uh, the way you see things, and I find that I live more intentionally, and I put people more important.
And I'm a people person anyway, but people are still m- much more important than projects or schedules. And of course, Jesus sh- uh, shows us that. You know, He was never in a hurry. He always took the time for people. He was like one-on-one even though He was pressed in by the crowds. He was always one-on-one with people and made them felt like they had, were seen, which is what He did for me, you know.
I don't know if you heard my story or not, but you know, I was in radio and I had, you know, a half a million listeners, but I still, you know, I lived my life like I wasn't, wasn't seen, like I didn't really matter, which is so, which is so dumb. I knew that was dumb. But that's just the way I was wired and then You know, through the cancer, he...
The response of the radio audience, who saw me as a family because they listened to me every morning, and I was just overwhelmed with the fact that God knew everything about, you know, even though I did know that consciously, but it just, it really hit home that God knew everything about me. He knew about the cancer before I was even born, and He knew what I needed, and He delivered.
And, you know- And,
Becky: and He still will. Even if it's not- Yeah ... you know, and you, there may be people who, you know, need to hear this, too. Like, yesterday morning, or actually Saturday night, I needed to remember something on Sunday, and then I didn't, you know, like write it down or anything. I was already in bed, and I'm like, "Oh, man, I need, I need to remember to...
I needed to remember to text somebody," because I hadn't talked to her in a, in a while. And I'm like, "Oh, my gosh." I'm like, "Lord, please let me remember to, you know, text this person tomorrow because I need to check on her and see how she's doing." It's a, it's a healing strong friend. And no doubt, on our way to church Sunday morning, we pulled up to a stoplight, and the car in front of us had a license plate that reminded me of this person.
And I said, "Oh, thank you, Jesus." You know? Let me- Yeah ... I got my phone out right then. He was driving. I got my phone out right then. I text her. And, you know, like, he will... He- It's something as silly and, and simple as that. He wants to be the author of our days, and He wants us to, to live in His will and to be, you know, to, like I said earlier, to, to have every single blessing that He has for us.
He wants us to- Yeah ... to be able to experience that. And so I, I think we just need to do a better job sometime of asking for things. Like, you know, I, I don't think we ask for nearly enough. But, um, but He'll remind you to text your friend-
Brad: Hmm ...
Becky: if you ask.
Jim: Yeah. So what are you gonna do now with your retirement?
Brad: Uh, like Becky said, I fish, I fish a lot. There
Jim: you go.
Brad: Yeah, I keep, I keep the boat in the water, so I fish a lot. I keep grandkids, uh, quite often.
Jim: Yes. Yes. I love it. Spoiling them, of course.
Brad: Oh, absolutely. They, um, when, when they get to their house and kind of cut up, we tell them, "They don't act like that in our house."
And they say, our kids say, "They don't act like that because y'all don't, have not learned the word no." I say, "You're absolutely right." Yes.
Becky: We redirect a lot. We don't really say no a lot. We redirect.
Jim: Perfect. Well, it's been a pleasure talking with you two, and, uh, how can people get ahold of you if they wanna know more about you or m- more about your group?
Becky: Um, you can find us on the Healing Strong, um, leader page, for sure. Mm-hmm. And I don't know our email address, but it's on the Healing- It's on the, uh, Healing Strong. Let me see. That's right. I can probably find it. It's on the- Just go to- ... Healing Strong leader page ...
Jim: healingstrong.org, and just go to the- Yeah
Find a Group in Mobile.
Becky: It is healingstrong.mobile@gmail. Yep. That's it. There
Jim: you go. Well, thank you so much. I'm, I'm glad to hear you're doing well and enjoying your retirement and, and the grandkids.
Becky: We are.
Jim: Something I still don't have. Good night. I should've had seven kids. They're fun. We only had four kids, so it's, it's taking a little longer.
Becky: It's, they're pretty fun. You'll find out. There's- I would highly recommend ... yeah, that's- 10 out
Brad: of 10 ... nothing like grandkids, for sure.
Jim: All right. Well, thank you so much.
Becky: Thank you.
Brad: All right. Thank you.
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