Article March 7, 2005 Issue

'PRAYER WAS MY ONLY WAY OUT'

By Kate Oyer

MY HUSBAND AND I were in the process of adopting our long-awaited first child. As part of the process, we were required to take a medical examination.

The doctor found a growth on my body and swelling under my arms and in my neck, which he felt were abnormal and suspicious. He knew that my husband and I were Christian Scientists because we had had a long talk during the exam about why I hadn't listed the usual medical history. We'd explained how we relied on prayer-based spiritual treatment for our healthcare. He said, however, that the growth was very alarming, and that he suspected it was a very invasive form of skin cancer. He was a dear man, and he told me that I could certainly come to him and get help if the symptoms became too aggressive, or if the pain became unmanageable.

Since a biopsy wasn't done, the doctor didn't feel he could say for certain that the growth was cancerous, and he wrote "suspicious growth" on my medical examination form.

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