Article January 15, 2007 Issue

Discovering my spiritual lineage

BY MICHELLE NANOUCHE

THE CHOICE TO RELY completely on God for physical healing through Christian Science prayer treatment can raise questions. Is an entirely spiritual approach sufficient to address the physical aspects of a case? Wouldn't a more comprehensive approach sometimes include dealing with a problem both spiritually and medically?

When faced with a serious or life-threatening condition, it's perfectly natural to expect the best-available treatment—one that would produce a healing outcome. And I had to consider these exact questions, when in 2001 I found a lump in my breast.

Both my mother and my aunt had had breast cancer diagnoses. Now I was afraid I had cancer. Aware of the variety of treatment options available, including both conventional medical and spiritually based approaches, I wanted to make my choice grounded on rational thinking and not merely in reaction to fear.