The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

You have probably heard the adage, "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly!" The terminology originated from an Italian western starring Clint Eastwood. The Italian pronunciation being "il buono, il brutto, il cattivo". And it referred to their search for gold in the midst of battles, prison camps and other downsides of the hunt for treasure.

Searching for cancer treatments could be prefaced with the same phrase. The Good. The Bad. The Ugly. I have yet to discover a cancer treatment that I have required that was not without significant side effects and risks. Thus, I place those risks on a balance scale and seek to determine if the benefits will truly outweigh the risks - otherwise known as the bad and ugly side of modern medicine.

For instance, IVIG is the treatment that I take every 28 days that supposedly offers "the good" benefit of supporting my damaged immune system. Monthly, I request pray and pray myself that the known risks of kidney damage or infections from blood-borne pathogens will not compromise my body. These "bad" side effects are serious yet, thus far, I have believed that the potential for protection from infections has outweighed these potential side effects.

Then yesterday, I uncovered a recently released medical journal article where "the ugly" side of IVIG becomes very obvious, very quickly. And it is a very ugly discovery that I am now going to have to reevaluate against the potential for the IVIG to benefit me. This article details how a patient with the same leukemia that I have was given IVIG and within hours, had a heart attack that was followed by a stroke. He died shortly thereafter. It is believed that these thromboembolic events (blood clot induced) were a result of the IVIG. The study also points out that patients with a history of past thromboembolic events (I have had a blood clot in my lung also known as a pulmonary embolus) are at higher risk for this complication.

When the natural side of my life reviews these bad and ugly risks of treatments that I supposedly need to survive, life can become very dark and frightening. My brain shuts down. My heart races. Confusion attempts to set in. I am certain, only by living a life where I rely upon the Holy Spirit, can I make these disturbing decisions based on my best interest. When I feel that unsteadiness in my spirit, I can rest assured that the Holy Spirit is attempting to bridle my own knowledge and opinions and "steer" them in the direction that only God Alone knows is best for me. This is part of the reason that I depend upon the prayers of so many believers. I have to make too many life or death decisions for myself each and every week to rely upon my own human instinct. I am grateful to God Almighty for his gift of the Holy Spirit!

I encourage you not to be perplexed or overwhelmed when people talk about the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38 precisely explains to us: "Then Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit'." And Luke 11:13 informs us: "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him."

Carefully consider these Scriptures. We learn that the Holy Spirit is a gift that our Father bestows upon His children. Yet, Acts 2:38 teaches us that there are some prerequisites to receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. We cannot live a life replete with sin and expect to ever hear the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit or sense His guiding our steps and decisions. We must repent of our sins and believe in Jesus as our Savior. Then the pathway to the power of the Holy Spirit is paved for us.