Hope in the Face of Cancer

Speaker 1: 0:01

It's time now to get the hell out of your life. A weekly broadcast with real people sharing real struggles and offering real hope. Today's show will encourage, inspire and empower you to face life's challenges with a full confidence and renewed hope. Now let's join our host, ron Myers. The Provider.

Speaker 2: 0:24

I am so privileged to be with you today. Today's show is drenched in hope and later in the show I have a very important message that can strengthen your walk with God instantly if you choose to listen. But first I have a question. Where is God when a loved one is diagnosed with cancer? I think cancer has intruded all of our lives. Cancer is an unwelcome intruder that destroys hopes and dreams. My mother died of cancer at the young age of 59. My beautiful wife dealt with breast cancer four years ago. Today she's doing great, but many of her friends never survived.

Speaker 2: 1:06

I have prayed with many young, beautiful children who were terminally ill and have since passed. You know I can have all the faith in the world, but when so many good people are diagnosed with cancer and die, i begin to question God. Why does it seem like all the good people get cancer and the evil people live forever? It can take a person with tremendous faith and turn them into an angry person and cause them to lose all trust and faith in God. I was on the verge of becoming one of those people and then I met today's guest. I met someone who wanted to share their story with the world. The story is about a loving mom caring for her young daughter with terminal cancer. Now I had no idea how our conversation would go and she knew nothing of my thoughts and questions concerning God, but after speaking with her I knew God sent her to me to share her story with the world.

Speaker 2: 2:15

Let's meet today's guest, lynette Myers. No, we're not related, we just have the same last name. I call her an angel sent from God that brings hope and encouragement to those dealing with cancer. Welcome to the show, lynette. How are you today? I'm wonderful, ron. Thank you so much for having me. Well, good show today. But before I get into the subject of that, tell the listeners a little bit about yourself.

Speaker 3: 2:43

Well, like I said, i'm Lynette Myers and I'm the new founder and CEO of Megan's Dream Incorporated, which we've created this program to help families and their communities walk through cancer.

Speaker 2: 3:00

Well, tell us a little bit about you, about your upbringing, growing up, and a little bit are you from here.

Speaker 3: 3:07

Well, I'm originally from Alabama but I grew up in Ocean Springs, mississippi, and when I got married, had children and we're going through life very wonderfully with playing softball and baseball and school and all of that And children were healthy for the most part.

Speaker 2: 3:26

So you had the white picket fence, the little dogs and the little cats and just the little typical TV. Leave it to beaver family, huh.

Speaker 3: 3:34

Well, i won't go that far, but we were an average normal family in our 30s, trying to be all we could be with our children, and one day Megan woke up and told me her leg was hurting, and I sent her to school For the next day. When she woke up, she said her leg was hurting even worse. So we went to the hospital and that's when we found that she had a tumor. Now how old was she?

Speaker 2: 4:05

She was eight, eight years old. Precious little girl goes to the doctor, and I believe I was reading a book that you did Crash Course 101, and listeners will tell you how to get that in just a little bit. But the year was 1999, right, and I remember that because I have a son. Jacob was born in 1999. So I'm having a new child born and you got the news that your daughter has cancer. So what happened?

Speaker 3: 4:36

Well, when they told us that they found the mass at the Ocean Springs Hospital, they sent us over to USA Children's and Women's where they said that doctors were awaiting our arrival. So I called my husband and I told him I was on my way and I'd let him know what they said. When we got there, we went to the hospital and they confirmed that there was a mass. It was two days before Thanksgiving And you know it's so funny because we talk about what is important in our lives and everything, and back then we were all worried about Y2K And if that was going to just disrupt our whole entire life, well, a new disruption came in and more important was that we were fighting for our darthes life at this point in time. They told us to go home, enjoy Thanksgiving which you know that's not much there when you have this kind of news but they told us to go home and come back the next day for edit a biopsy, and that's what we did.

Speaker 2: 5:34

Now, were you a person of faith going through all this? Were you going to church?

Speaker 3: 5:39

Or did you?

Speaker 2: 5:39

start asking God hey, what's happening?

Speaker 3: 5:42

Yes, and, as a matter of fact, i had had a dream of my mother a couple of weeks prior to this, saying I can't believe that happened to Megan. It was just like her head was in a bubble And she looked at me and she said I can't believe that happened to Megan. And so when we went through that and I ended up over at the hospital over there, i remembered her saying that and I thought, oh Lord, here we go. And when we came home, when they sent us home for that Thanksgiving little break right there, god told me that she would touch many lives through this. Who would Megan? Yes. And so I knew we were in it for the long haul. Wow.

Speaker 2: 6:27

So she's a patient and a listener's also, and we'll tell you a little bit. Lynette has taken the title on, now called chemo mom, and chemo mom is a special mom And we really do appreciate you sharing your story. So Megan's in the hospital and I read in your book that she asked you one time. she says mom, do you think I get sick so you can help people?

Speaker 3: 6:54

That was an eye opener, coming from your nine year old child, you know, because she could see clearly every time she would get sick and we would have to go back to the hospital. She looked at me and when she asked me that question, i said what do you mean, baby? Because I wanted her to clarify what she was saying, not what my adult mind was telling me. And she looked at me and she said well, well, let's face it, mom. She said I get sick, we go to the hospital. There's always somebody there that needs your help. You help them and I play with their kids. That's what happens, and you know, it was just, it was just amazing to hear that kind of No.

Speaker 2: 7:27

Are you having an open conversation with Megan? Does she know the seriousness, that there's a likelihood that she's not going to survive, and if so, does she have any fear of death?

Speaker 3: 7:40

Well, at eight years old, you really don't know what to tell your children and how deep to go into that conversation. Um, i never talked about death with her as far as the beginning, at the beginning, because, um, we were, we were fighting to live. You know, you live every day, no matter what we can walk out of here and not make it home. That's how life is, i mean. And so I didn't really talk to her about the death part of it, just that it was serious and we were going to fight this.

Speaker 2: 8:14

Wow. Now, during this time you had other children and uh, what's going on in their lives and what's happening to you financially?

Speaker 3: 8:24

Oh, financially it was a nightmare. My husband was the only one working. I had quit the job I was doing and, um, i had $25 a week to eat on and we were in-house doing in-house treatments for a week solid. So it was tough. You know, our water would be cut off or power would be cut off. They would come out and make sure that we didn't have any water every day. So it was rough. It really was.

Speaker 2: 8:53

Well, during this time, uh, this transition, you read, i read in your book that you spent some time in the chapel there at the hospital uh in Mobile, and at one of those times in the chapel you felt God tell you something. What was that?

Speaker 3: 9:12

Well, i went in one night what I call the ugly mama cry and the tears came from my toes. And so when, when I started, you know you don't want to fall apart in front of your children, so you start running and the nurse took me to the chapel and I'm standing there and I'm like I don't know what to do. What do you want me to do? Where do I go? Because everyone was, you know, telling you all the different things, different avenues you could take. I didn't know where to go or what to do.

Speaker 3: 9:41

And all of a sudden, and like I said, when I call it the ugly mama cry, it was serious, and all of a sudden this piece came over me and it's that was when I first knew what the peace that surpasses all understanding meant, because I had no idea how I went from that kind of devastation or cry to instant peace. And he told me, he said she will get the best care here. I've brought you here for a reason. And I just sat there and I was so amazed that I was feeling that kind of peace. I just I couldn't say anything except for well, i'll need confirmation in the morning. And I had the confirmation the next morning, whenever I signed the papers.

Speaker 2: 10:25

Wow, listeners, we're going to take a break and we come back. We're going to continue our story with Lynette Myers, also known as Kimo Mom, and we'll tell you also how to get a copy of this book that she has written. It's an awesome book. We'll be back in just a minute.

Speaker 1: 10:42

You're listening to Get the Hell Out of Your Life with your host, ron Myers. Real stories, real struggles and real hope.

Speaker 4: 10:50

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Speaker 1: 11:28

Getting encouragement is important and it helps us overcome our fears and gives us the courage to face life's challenges. To receive weekly messages of encouragement, all you need to do is text INSPIRE to 888-527-1223. That's 888-527-1223. Our messages are intended to inspire and empower you on your life journey. Remember, life is more enjoyable when you're inspired.

Speaker 2: 12:14

Welcome back listeners. If you just tuned in, i'm talking with Lynette Myers. The year was 1999 and she was leading a normal life. Her summer was filled with baseball, softball, camping and all the things in between. But then she got news that her eight-year-old daughter had terminal cancer, and that's she's sharing her story today. But it is a story of hope and encouragement, and, lynette, so life is going on. And tell the listeners. if somebody out there right now is saying that you know, you said earlier you had a piece that surpasses all understanding, but I can't get any peace in my life, and what would you tell that listener?

Speaker 3: 12:58

You know, everything is a journey And we walk through one part of our life to another. Why I received that piece that day, i don't know. I've felt it a couple of times during our journey that he really just blanketed me with his peace. I believe that that was God's way of letting me know, when I was in the middle of questioning in him, that he was there, that this was real And did that help you Has.

Speaker 2: 13:27

She's gone through treatments that knowing that he was there with you.

Speaker 3: 13:32

Oh yes, and when she was miraculously what we considered healed, she went into remission and she was never supposed to go into remission with her type cancer that she had. We're giving God all the glory We are. You know, she is healed. It's a miracle because it was, but then it comes back. So when people question about God and this peace and how this actually works, it was a roller coaster because it was his, his way of letting me know that he was still there in the middle of this storm, because the storm kept rolling, the waves kept coming, it didn't stop, but he was there and he would give me that hope that he would walk me through.

Speaker 2: 14:15

So give us a little journey. We don't have a lot of time. But then you say it came back. So tell us how it ended up with Megan.

Speaker 3: 14:26

So after we believe that she was going to be miraculously healed because you know what they say if you have enough faith, you will be healed. If you have enough, whatever God will do, you know God will, will heal you. When that doesn't happen, what do you do? That's really the question. Did I not? did I not have enough faith in him?

Speaker 2: 14:49

Yeah, did you do something wrong?

Speaker 3: 14:50

Did I do something wrong? Was there something that I said, something I did? You know, all of those questions go through your mind.

Speaker 2: 14:57

That's a good question, that well before you continue your story. what's an answer to that question? someone might be thinking that's exactly what I was thinking, why.

Speaker 3: 15:07

God is huge, you know, if I had all the answers, i would be God, but I don't.

Speaker 2: 15:13

So in other words, sometimes our journey in life, we just have to walk by faith. That's what faith is, and not sight And we don't understand. Anyway, go ahead and continue.

Speaker 3: 15:26

Well, it's just, it was a little hard going from okay, we're healed, we're okay, to it's come back and we don't know which way to really go because our protocol that we were on we were on a St Jude's protocol to start with that didn't work, so we had to go back to the 25 year old protocol, which didn't have very good results. Then the second time around they're winging it because they just really don't know what to do at that point in time. But then it goes away again And we're thinking, woo, we won the lottery, we're in. And then my dad gets sick. My dad has cancer. I had given him a kidney right before Megan was diagnosed and now he's got cancer.

Speaker 2: 16:09

So when it rains, it pours.

Speaker 3: 16:11

Yes, and then, right after he's diagnosed, megan's cancer comes back. Wow, so by November of that year they're both dying with cancer.

Speaker 2: 16:20

Mm-mm-mm-mm, and you had told me one time in our conversation that you never wanted the purple box. Oh yeah, what's the purple box and did you ever get it?

Speaker 3: 16:34

So the purple box is when your child passes away at the children's hospital, they give you the purple box and it has a lock of their hair, a Bible, little Bible. You know mementos from your child And when I was there standing with the other mothers and one of them would walk through that door before I did, i would get called from either the doctors or nurses or parents themselves and I would go up and I would walk with them. I would watch them get their purple box and I would walk them out the door without their child And the only thing I knew is I didn't want that purple box.

Speaker 2: 17:12

You didn't want the purple box.

Speaker 3: 17:13

I didn't want that purple box. I didn't know I still don't know why I really didn't want that purple box. I don't know if it was just final. I didn't want to walk out there with just pieces of her in my hand because I knew it wasn't her. She was no longer there. That was the remnants and I didn't want it pieced.

Speaker 2: 17:34

So when was the final time that Megan stepped into God's presence?

Speaker 3: 17:41

Opening day of baseball season.

Speaker 2: 17:43

Wow.

Speaker 3: 17:44

That was the biggest day in our room.

Speaker 2: 17:45

You said that as a smile. Is that kind of a sign to you Like hey, god's got a baseball game going up there and he needed?

Speaker 3: 17:52

Megan, i've often wondered if we get to play baseball or football up there. But yeah, that was one of the biggest days in our house is opening day of baseball season And she made sure it's as sick as she was. She made sure that her brothers went to opening day that day.

Speaker 2: 18:08

And she was 13? She was 12. 12 when she died.

Speaker 3: 18:11

No, excuse me, 11. She was 11. She was 11.

Speaker 2: 18:14

Wow. And since then, though, you've. Megan is living on through what you're doing and you're giving hope to people And for the next few minutes, there are people out there right now that have loved ones with cancer. They don't have your faith, they don't know what they're gonna do. You've got a microphone to just speak life into their soul or give them some hope and encouragement. As a mom that's been there in the trenches, what would you tell them?

Speaker 3: 18:47

The most important thing that I've learned is each and every one of us are here to live our lifetimes. Whether you're here for 10 minutes or 100 years, you're here to touch lives. You're here to touch, and then it's time to go home. No one's getting out alive. That's what our purpose is here, and so, no matter what your purpose is, always allow God to lead you to become the better person that you can be, because without him, we are nothing. I mean, let's face it, we are just the dirt at the foot of the cross.

Speaker 2: 19:21

Wow, you have a ministry now and I told the listeners earlier about a book. you have, crash Course 101. How can they get a copy of that? How can they read more about Megan's legacy that is still going on and is getting bigger and bigger?

Speaker 3: 19:36

Our website wwwmaganestreaminccom, and that's M-E-G-H-A-N-S dreaminccom. Our book is a free download. This was a testimony of many years put together. Like I said, i'm a three-time chemo mom. That went back and forth and back and forth. These families are hurting. I don't believe that we need to charge them any more money to get some information that may help them, and so it's a free download off of our website. We do take donations to help spread the word to these families and their communities, teaching them nationwide how to take care of their families.

Speaker 2: 20:16

And you go to groups and you speak and you'd love to talk to someone. If they're going through something, they can get through your contact information also at the website. Yes, very good. Wow, you are a blessing. You've been at some ministry events that I've done and I'm so sorry for the loss in your life, but Megan is living so much through you that she's given life to people. Now, even though she's not here, she's in the presence of Jesus. The Bible says to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, and so she probably met my mom.

Speaker 5: 20:58

I want to make sure she's on the greeting.

Speaker 2: 21:02

So your son was really that much of a screwball. He's talking to my mom now at a radio station, Now again what's the website wwwmegansdreamincorg. Thank you so much for coming by and sharing your story. It's a heartfelt story, and every time I talk with you I'm encouraged. And so the final thing before we go, the question I started off where is God when a loved one is diagnosed with cancer?

Speaker 3: 21:36

He's right there beside you, walking you every way, the old poem Footprints, when you don't see the two sets of footprints because he's carrying you. And it's true after 20 years. Megan was diagnosed 1999, here we are 2020. After 20 years, i can tell you that I thank God every day because I see His hand still working. His hand works in my life and everyone's around That I see. Whether we can see it or not, his hand is still because He just wants us to come home to Him. That's all it is.

Speaker 2: 22:12

Well, thank you, god bless you.

Speaker 1: 22:16

You're listening to get the hell out of your life with your host, ron Myers. Real stories, real struggles and real hope.

Speaker 5: 22:25

Has hope become a stranger in your life? Do you feel trapped? Are you caught in a whirlpool of life and responsibilities that you can't escape? Maybe hope has gone because someone robbed you of your childhood or your youth, or maybe it's a dream that you know will never come true. We can wish differently, but life will never be painless. But you're saying where can I find a place where there is peace? Peace is found only in Jesus Christ, crucified and resurrected. Jesus is triumphant over every pain, every failure, every heartbreak and every hope for this life. Jesus tells us if anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. If you would like to speak with someone right now about beginning a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, call 888-NEED-HIM or go to wwwchataboutjesuscom.

Speaker 2: 23:25

Freedom. I love freedom. Do you like freedom? We're celebrating this fourth of July weekend, the freedom we have in this country, and think about it. We really do have freedom.

Speaker 2: 23:38

I know a lot of politicians wanna scare us that we're losing our freedoms. We're not going to lose our freedom. You know, the most important freedoms we have the freedom to dream, the freedom to be ourselves. And then, for those that believe in Jesus, the Christians, we have the freedom of forgiveness, the freedom of a new life, the freedom of no condemnation, no guilt. We can wake up every single day and choose to walk in the finished works of Jesus. Jesus is our life coach and our teacher. He has already forgiven us for eternity, those that believe in Him. So what is holding us back from being all that He created us to be? We are free to be ourself, free to dream and dust off all those ideas that we had back in high school and we put them on hold. Or we were told by somebody that, well, you can't do that because it's all about you and it's not about Jesus. No, jesus gave you the freedom so he can show what's all about. You, was placed in you by Him and now He wants you to go to the next level in life.

Speaker 2: 25:07

So many people are not smiling. They don't have the joy of the Lord in their life, but yet they trust in going to church every Sunday. There's something wrong with that picture. It doesn't matter what you do, that if you don't accept and walk in what is residing inside of you and that is the spirit of Christ, a new heart, new ideas, new inspiration, every day is a new day and the joy of the Lord is your strength. So this Fourth of July weekend, just meditate in how free you are in Jesus and are you walking in that freedom? When you walk in that freedom, the hell in your life is gone. You may have some troubles, but you know you're walking with the Prince of Peace.

Speaker 4: 26:15

Ron will be back in a moment to wrap up today's conversation. Did you know what Ron did before he discovered his destiny? He was a promoter of secular entertainment and, by his own admission, he promoted anything he could make a buck at. At the pinnacle of his success, he walked away from it all so he could follow Jesus and discover his God-given destiny. That was over 20 years ago and he has never looked back. Today he's an inspirational speaker on a mission to empower individuals just like you to discover their God-given destiny. Ron put his story in a novel entitled The Promoter, and he wants to give you a copy. Here's what a few readers have said. I could not put it down. I cried, giggled, gasped and laughed out loud. Ron has written a novel and self-help book all in one. This book is a message of hope. To request your free copy, visit our website at thepromoterorg. Now back to Ron.

Speaker 2: 27:17

Well, friends, have a great Fourth of July weekend. Think about the freedom in this country, but also think about the freedom that you have with Jesus. It's real freedom. No one can ever take it away from you. Check out my website at thepromoterorg and remember this God loves you, i love you, and when you give Jesus your heart, he will give you freedom.

Speaker 1: 27:51

Get the hell out of your life Get the hell out of your life is underwritten by the Christmas City Gift Show. We invite you to come shop with over 260 vendors from all over the United States, november 10th through the 12th inside the Coast Convention Center located on the beach in Biloxi, mississippi. You can find more information at christmastcitygiftshowcom. If you would like to share your story of God's amazing grace or listen to previous episodes, please visit our website, thepromoterorg. Join us next week for another episode of Get the Hell Out of Your Life real stories, real struggles and real hope.