The Word of Their Testimony...

by Jim Francis
Jul/Aug/Sep 2012

“What is that swelling on your neck?” That is the question my son asked that began the wonderful transformational process in me, my family and many around me. My friend, a head and neck surgeon, told me that the growth was my thyroid and that there was a 90% likelihood that the swelling was benign. He prescribed a series of tests including radioactive iodine and fine needle aspiration. I passed them all with flying colors only to be told by my surgeon friend that he wanted to remove my thyroid because he thought that the swelling might be cancer. This tended to support my belief that each person uses only the “tools” in his “tool box” to solve every problem presented and that the surgeon has only a knife. When I asked my friend why we did the tests, he referred me to another thyroid surgeon, purportedly the foremost one in the country. When I met with him he told me that the tests were not diagnostic, and the only way to be certain that the growth was not malignant was to remove the thyroid and test it both in the operating room and afterward in a laboratory. This made sense to me so I agreed to have the thyroid removed. Waiting in the hospital room afterward, I received the good news from the doctor. He said that usually the good news seems to go to the bad people but in this case the good news went to a good person. I was elated. I no longer had a thyroid, but I was in the clear.

A couple of days later I went to the surgeon’s office and I saw in his face that look that I saw frequently afterward. Bad news: the thyroid was malignant and I had the type of cancer that once detected, inevitably metastasizes elsewhere. That look on the doctor’s face gave the unmistakable non–verbal impression, “You are going to die and die soon.”

The wonderful thing about the internet is that you can find out all sorts of information, including medical information. This information confirmed the doctor’s findings. The five year survival rate is less that 5%. Remarkably, I had no fear and determined that I would be in that 5% group. What I did not fully comprehend at the time is that the 5% who survived were not cured. They only lived longer by 5 years. My current physician confirmed the medical belief that this type of cancer is never cured. It only can be concealed below detection for a time.

The next step was to confirm where the cancer had metastasized and treat it. The scan showed a large spot in my midsection, believed to be in my liver. After an MRI, it was determined that the tumor was in one of my vertebrae. At this time my friend, Lee Ann Rummell, gave me a book Blessing or Curse, You Can Choose by Derek Prince. I read the book and discovered with a joy beyond description that I could simply ask Jesus to remove a curse that I had many years ago taken upon myself. God revealed to me that this curse was the root cause of the cancer. After reading the book I believe that I was healed. I went to Christian Healing Ministries with a friend for healing prayer. I filled out the card for prayer and listed two prayer requests, healing for thyroid cancer and peace and joy for my family who, like the doctor, showed me the facial expression, “You are going to die.” I chose not to add a third prayer request, that God would lead my path, thinking that two requests were enough. Expecting either Francis or Judith MacNutt or a like–minded prayer minister, I met with two kind people who seemed unlikely to me to have the gift of healing. They prayed for me for twenty minutes, during which time I experienced the same joy I had experienced earlier reading Derek Prince’s book. When they stopped praying, one said, “You have already been healed. What have you done?” The other prayer minister confirmed that she too had heard that I was already healed. I told them about the book and removing the curses and they said, “That’s what we do here!” The three of us were laughing and rejoicing when one of the prayer ministers asked if she could pray for me again. I said, “Of course,” and she prayed that God would lead my path! It was to me a confirmation from God that I was healed.

The physicians sent me to the oncologist for radiation treatment for the metastasized tumor in my spine. He recommended that he radiate my vertebrae with a high level of radiation because the tumor was growing rapidly and the vertebrae might collapse, paralyzing me from that area on down. He told me that in radiating my vertebrae he would also radiate all of my organs, as well as the spinal cord. The radiation of the spinal cord could cause paralysis and the radiation itself causes cancer but, in his words, “You already have cancer.” I asked if we could wait three months, then do another MRI. “Why wait?” he asked. I responded, “Because I believe I am healed.” We waited the three months, and the cancer was gone. That was eight years ago. I have tests periodically at the insistence of my doctor who believes that the cancer is not curable — yet there is still no cancer.

Since my healing, I have had the same dream many times. In the dream I am sitting at a dining table with many friends. The food is in large bowls and no matter how much is eaten, the bowls are always full. Sitting at the head of the table is God the Father, and across from me is Jesus. There is laughter and joy at the table. The Father speaks quietly to me, “How’s that cancer working out for you?”

“Very well; in fact it has been a wonderful experience,” I say.

“That’s good. That’s what I meant it for,” He says with a kind smile.

My experience at CHM has been a great joy. I pray for people, tell my story and see God heal people. I tell people that my healing is both physical and spiritual, and the spiritual is the greater blessing because it is eternal.

Jim Francis serves on CHM's Board of Directors.