Christian apologist Nabeel Qureshi began chemotherapy treatment yesterday for stomach cancer.
In a video blog dated Sept. 22, Qureshi publicly announced that he would be undergoing chemotherapy.
“I was praying that it wouldn’t have to come to this. I was praying that the Lord would do something miraculous before this,” he said. Despite this, he added that God “is still good.”
Qureshi admitted going through the treatment was not something he looked forward to, as he had heard a lot of “horror stories” about people who went through chemo. He confessed to feeling apprehensive about the procedure.
Before being administered with the drugs, Qureshi had to undergo a minor procedure. One consequence of this is that he would not be allowed to carry anything heavier than 20 pounds in the coming weeks.
“My daughter is about 30 pounds, so not being able to lift her for the next few weeks is not something I enjoy the prospect of,” he said.
The previous night, he said the pain in his stomach woke him up and would not let him fall back asleep for about an hour.
“The pain is getting worse,” he said, adding that getting treatment is better than not doing anything to deal with the disease.
Many people have sent him emails advising him against chemotherapy and suggesting alternative treatment ranging from drinking carrot juice to using scorpion venom.
Qureshi said being diagnosed with cancer makes it difficult to “decide on the next course of action” because “everything changes.” Most activities had to be stopped. Even a person’s residence can change depending on where the best treatment is available.
“You’re trying to figure out first opinion, second opinion on what to do for treatment, and then you have about 30 or 40 different suggestions that people are sending you,” he said.
He added that he appreciated all the suggestions and have even tried some of them, like drinking mushroom tea.
“But at the end of the day, it’s really confusing, and you kind of just have to trust your instinct or trust the door that the Lord opens,” he said.
In his case, Qureshi believes the Lord opened the door for him to move to Houston where he can get treatment from some of the best doctors for his condition.
While in Houston, Qureshi met an Oklahoma pastor who was diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer in 2014. The pastor went through chemotherapy and has been cancer free for the past 18 months. The story encouraged Qureshi and his wife.
Qureshi said he had been praying that the treatment’s side effect “will not be too difficult to handle.” He asked for prayers from the viewers to pray with him that the chemotherapy will be effective in getting rid of the disease and that it won’t have any side effect.
He ended the video with a prayer and promised he would give updates.
Qureshi announced last month that he had been diagnosed with an advanced stomach cancer and that the prognosis was “quite grim.”
“Nonetheless, we are going to pursue healing aggressively, both medical and miraculous, relying on God and the fact that He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,” he wrote on his Facebook page.
Watch Qureshi's video blog below.
