Greetings all,
Regret the delay in getting my story down, but I do want to share it as God has been so good to us. Feel free to edit as required.
Having lived a life relatively apart from God all my adult life, I was brought to my knees with a serious diagnosis of metastatic malignant melanoma (StageIV) which had traveled to my neck and liver. After learning that medical science has no cure for Stage IV melanoma, I was devastated to find out that the median life expectancy was 11 months and overall 5-year life expectancy was between 5% and 10%.

Surgery was used to remove the known disease, but I was informed that my blood was full of micro-mets which would undoubtedly manifest as tumors, probably sooner rather than later. I was told my brain and lungs were particularly at risk for further disease.

The harsh reality and utter hopelessness of my situation from a medical perspective provided a strong impetus to launch a search for a meaning from all of this as well as a healing. The great news is that both my wife and I turned to God and established a wonderful relationship with Him, founded on our acceptance of His son, Jesus Christ, as our savior.

In the process of better understanding God's will in our lives we prayed regularly and made His church a larger part of our lives. I was the subject of prayer requests from around the world, as we had lived in Europe and the S. Pacific, as well as across America. We attended healing sessions at St. Paul's United Methodist Church, in Coronado, CA, and at Rancho Bernardo Community Presbyterian Church. This included three Healing Classes led by Hal Weeks and his team of believers. I additionally experienced a spiritual "laying on of hands" at Rancho Bernardo Baptist Church, First Southern Baptist Church of Del City, OK, and at a men's retreat of the RBCPC.

After considerable prayer, I feel that God led me to a cancer trial involving a vaccine made from cells from my liver tumor. The final injection will be given in November 2002, but today I thank God that there appears to be no disease progression to date. I have celebrated my one-year anniversary since discovery of serious disease onset.

Today I praise God for my health, but more importantly, I praise Him that we came to truly know Him and His Son through this disease. The gift of healing and every additional day with my loved ones is deeply appreciated, but everlasting life with Him is the true miracle.

Thanks for your guidance and help Hal. Our lives are so happy. Our God really is an awesome God.

-------Tom Trotter