October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, so Joyce wanted to share a bit of her story with you and hopefully bring some encouragement to anyone in this season.
JOYCE: YOU KNOW, 20–I DON’T
KNOW, IT WAS 1989, SO HOWEVER
MANY YEARS AGO THAT WAS, 28?
IS THAT WHAT YOU SAID?
BOY, YOU GOT SMART PEOPLE HERE.
[AUDIENCE LAUGHING]
JOYCE: I WAS GONNA HAVE
TO GET MY CALCULATOR OUT
OF MY PHONE TO FIGURE THAT OUT.
I WENT TO THE DOCTOR
FOR A CHECKUP AND FOUND OUT
I HAD BREAST CANCER.
WELL, I WAS OUT PREACHING FAITH,
YOU KNOW, I WASN’T GONNA GET
BREAST CANCER, I WAS PRAYING
FOR OTHER PEOPLE TO BE HEALED.
AND IT WAS THE VERY FAST-GROWING
TYPE OF CANCER;
LITTLE, TINY TUMOR,
BUT VERY FAST-GROWING CANCER.
SO, I DON’T KNOW HOW THEY WOULD
TREAT ME TODAY, BUT THEN THEY
JUST SAID, “YOU HAVE TO HAVE
A MASTECTOMY.
THERE’S NO MESSING AROUND
WITH THIS.
THAT’S JUST WHAT YOU GOT TO DO.”
SO, HERE I WENT FROM BEING
A WOMAN OF FAITH AND POWER
TO BEING IN THE HOSPITAL
LOSING PART OF MY BODY.
WELL, I HAD A DECISION TO MAKE.
AND PROBABLY SOME OF YOU HERE
TODAY HAVE A DECISION TO MAKE,
AND PROBABLY MANY OF YOU
WATCHING TELEVISION HAVE
A DECISION TO MAKE.
I LOVE WHAT PAUL SAID.
HE SAID TO LIVE AS CHRIST,
TO DIE IS GAIN.
YOU KNOW, NONE OF US WANT
TO DIE, BUT IF YOU’RE
A BELIEVER, YOU DON’T NEED TO BE
AFRAID OF IT BECAUSE, HONESTLY,
IF WE READ THE BIBLE, THINGS ARE
GONNA GET A WHOLE LOT BETTER
WHEN WE’RE NOT HERE
THAN WHILE WE ARE HERE, SO.
[AUDIENCE APPLAUDING]
JOYCE: WHEN PEOPLE THAT ARE
BORN AGAIN LEAVE THIS REALM
AND THEY GO HOME TO BE
WITH THE LORD, WE’RE REALLY NOT
GRIEVING FOR THEM,
WE’RE GRIEVING FOR US.
IT’S OUR LOSS THAT WE’RE
GRIEVING FOR, AND THAT’S RIGHT
AND THAT’S PROPER AND THERE’S
NOT ANYTHING WRONG WITH THAT,
BUT THERE’S A LOT OF REALLY
GREAT THINGS IN THE BIBLE
THAT WE CAN REMEMBER THAT WILL
GIVE US COMFORT, ONE OF THEM
BEING WHEN YOUR TIME COMES,
YOU ARE GOING TO SEE
YOUR LOVED ONES AGAIN
BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT GONE,
THEY’RE JUST NOT HERE ANYMORE.
THEY’RE WITH GOD
AT THE RIGHT PLACE.
AND SO, WE NEED TO REALIZE
THAT WE CAN HAVE A TYPE OF DEEP
REST KNOWING THAT THINGS
ARE GOING TO BE OKAY.
AND I WENT THROUGH THAT
WHEN I HAD THE BREAST CANCER.
AT FIRST I WAS SO SCARED,
SO SCARED.
AND I HAD TO WORK THROUGH THAT
AND COME TO THE POINT WHERE I
BELIEVE THAT GOD WAS IN CONTROL
OF MY LIFE AND HE
WAS GOING TO TAKE CARE OF ME
NO MATTER WHAT.
AND YOU KNOW WHAT?
I ENDED UP, I DIDN’T
HAVE TO HAVE ANY KIND OF CHEMO
TREATMENTS, NO KIND OF ANYTHING,
THEY GOT EVERYTHING.
EVERY YEAR, 28 YEARS IN A ROW
NOW, I GO AND I GET TESTED,
AND EVERY YEAR, CLEAN REPORT,
EVERYTHING IS GREAT.
[AUDIENCE CHEERING]
JOYCE: NOW, A FEW YEARS AGO,
I WAS HAVING SOME REALLY SERIOUS
BACK TROUBLE.
AND SO, THEY FINALLY DECIDED
THAT THEY WERE GONNA LOOK
AT MY WHOLE SPINE, AND THEY DID
SOME KIND OF A SPECIAL TEST,
AND SO THEY CAME BACK
AND THEY SAID, “WELL, WE NEED
TO DO A FURTHER TEST,” I FORGET
NOW WHAT THEY CALLED IT,
BUT IT WAS SOMETHING WHERE THEY
JUST LOOK AT YOUR WHOLE BODY
BECAUSE THEY SAID, “YOU’VE GOT
SOME LESIONS ON YOUR SPINE
THAT COULD BE CANCER
THAT HAS METASTASIZED
FROM YOUR BREAST CANCER.”
WELL, CAN YOU IMAGINE
HOW THAT MADE ME FEEL?
OH MY GOSH, WELL,
GOT ANOTHER DECISION TO MAKE.
SEE, WE’RE ALWAYS MAKING
DECISIONS, AREN’T WE?
ABOUT HOW WE’RE GOING TO HANDLE
THINGS AND WHAT WE’RE
GOING TO DO.
SO ONCE AGAIN, I HAVE TO SAY,
“WELL, GOD, I’M IN YOUR HANDS.
I HOPE THAT’S NOT THE CASE,
BUT I BELONG TO YOU.
I TRUST THAT YOU’RE GONNA
TAKE CARE OF ME.”
AND SO YOU WAIT IT OUT DAY
BY DAY BY DAY.
WELL, SO THEY DID THIS TEST
ON MY WHOLE BODY, LOOKED
AT MY WHOLE BODY, I THINK THEY
CALLED IT A PET SCAN, AND THEY
CAME BACK AND THEY SAID,
“WELL, INTERESTING THING,
IT LOOKS LIKE ON YOUR SPINE,”
I LOVE THE WAY THE WORLD PUTS
IT, “THAT YOU HAD CANCER
AT ONE TIME, BUT SOMEHOW
OR ANOTHER, IT HEALED ITSELF.”
[AUDIENCE CHEERING]
JOYCE: WOW.
[AUDIENCE CHEERING]
JOYCE: WELL, YOU CAN IMAGINE
HOW THAT MADE ME FEEL.
AND SO, THE GOOD NEWS IS,
IS THEY LOOKED AT MY WHOLE BODY
AND THEY SAID, “YOU DON’T HAVE
ONE TINY BIT OF CANCER
IN THERE ANYWHERE.”
SO I GOT A GOOD PICTURE
OF THE WHOLE THING AND CAME OUT
OF IT FEELING BETTER
THAN I DID BEFORE I WENT IN.