The Weight of Glory

A number of people have recently asked me for an update on Peter Braam's health.

Just yesterday I received this e-mail from Peter:

My Dear Family and Friends,

Thank you for your prayers, emails and phone calls! It is VERY heartening to hear from you.

The past six weeks have been a blur of doctors appointments, surgical biopsies, scans, consultations on cancer cures, research on alternative cures, conflicting test results, dealing with insurance, trying to prepare financially, praying, and trying to balance work and a normal life with all of this! That said, I want to apologize for being slow to respond personally to some emails and phone calls. I look forward to catching up with you all at some point. I think that when I begin chemotherapy there may be some down time to make calls and send emails, which will be very nice for that reason!

My diagnosis was final last week -- Hodgkin's Lymphoma Stage II. The PET scan and bone marrow biopsy have revealed that the cancer has not spread anywhere else other than my neck lymph nodes. It is an early stage. Right now the prognosis is an 80% or higher chance of full recovery with chemotherapy. One daunting side effect is a 36% chance of sterility. The other possible side effects are heart damage, lung damage, and an increased chance of re-currant cancer. Chemotherapy begins June 2 unless I am miraculously cured before then!

This experience has been fruitful spiritually. As Winston Churchill said "There are no atheists in the trenches!" When we face our immanent death it's natural for us to cling to God! One day after feeling anxious I went to confession and after receiving the absolution of my sins the scripture verse came to mind where Jesus tells his disciples "Rejoice because your name is written in the book of life!" I realized that though my body is dying, my spirit is alive and that God loves me! About this I have amazing joy and peace! This joy and peace has transcended any small anxieties and is a reminder that God has me in his hands.

One struggle has been deciding what to do for treatment. Having heard many stories of "alternative treatments" I've tried to find one that seems tenable. Although I believe that this field of medicine has validity, it is also definitely murky. There are many claims, no standardization, and little science. It's been tough to sort out the quacks from the legitimate practitioners. One treatment I've looked into extensively is the Gerson Treatment. Reportedly there have been thousands of cures of cancer. I welcome any suggestions in this area.

I again thank you for your prayers and would like to ask you for continued prayers. If we begin another novena today to Blessed Frassati, it will be finished on the anniversary of his beatification which was May 20, 1990.

I've attached the prayers.

Starting May 12 and finishing May 20, please join me in praying for the following intentions:

• Macey King - a little girl with a tumor in her head who is facing a difficult surgery


• Micheal Murphy - a young man fighting melanoma


• Paul Furey - a young man with terminal lymphoma


• Peter Braam - for healing of lymphoma


• Mr. Hunter - an older man with re-current prostate cancer


• Sharbel Dussault - a young married man with two children who is suffering from a serious auto-immune disease affecting his colon


• Christopher Andersen - a young man suffering with DiGeorge Syndrome


• Jennifer Maas - for the healthy delivery of her baby


• Mary Zenk - for the repose of her soul


• Brian Jablonski - for the repose of his soul

This experience has also been a wonderful chance to reconnect with a lot of family and friends that I've lost touch with. I look forward to communicating more with you. You are in my prayers.

In the Peace and Joy of Jesus!

Peter

The novena prayers that Peter was mentioning can be found on Bettnet.com.