February 2026
When “Praise the Lord” isn’t enough
At the end of September last year, I became unwell after a gym session with severe pains across my stomach and bad diarrhoea. The stomach pains persisted for over a week so a visit to the doctor was booked who ordered a full blood-count, a stool sample test and an ultrasound scan. My thoughts and the doctors were that it could be a muscular tear.
The bloods and stool sample tests both came back as normal but the ultrasound scan on December 15th revealed the presence of three cysts on my pancreas; one having a small tubular projection indicating that it was coming from the pancreatic ducts. I was immediately put on the 2WW (two weeks wait referral) cancer pathway because of my family history (my brother had died at the age of 41 from pancreatic cancer and my father died from complications of diabetes at the age of 55).
At the beginning of January, I started to feel very unwell with upper chest discomfort, back pains, loss of appetite, rapid wight loss, bloated stomach and steatorrhea; all signs of either pancreatitis or pancreatic cancer.
At this time, we were both thinking and fearing the worst; Britt was looking at widowhood, and I was thinking about getting my affairs in order. God had given me one scripture Isaiah 43:19,
19 Behold, I am doing a new thing.
and all I felt Him say to me in my spirit was, “Wait”.
I saw a consultant at RBH (Royal Berkshire Hospital) on the 9th of January who referred me for an MRI scan and another type of blood test. The consultant wrote down in his notes, “suspected IMPN”, which are cystic tumours that are pre-cancerous. The MRI scan occurred on the morning of Saturday January 17th with the blood test the day before.
Throughout this time, I had received prayer from Alastair, Kathy, our home group and some other close friends and by the time of the MRI scan had started to feel much better.
The following Thursday I received a letter from RBH Gastroenterology department. The MRI revealed no traces of any cysts on my pancreas and that my blood test was normal. As a result, I was released from the 2WW cancer pathway. As of now I am in great health.
Somehow the phrase, “Praise the Lord” just isn’t enough.
Behold, I am doing a new thing….(Isaiah 43:19)