Christian apologist and bestselling author Nabeel Qureshi, who was diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer last year, recently gave an update on his latest scan, and the results were "not good."
In his latest Vlog posted on his Facebook page, Qureshi said the size of the primary tumor in his stomach has decreased a bit, but the scan revealed the cancer has spread.
"The radiation apparently didn't work too well," Qureshi said in the Vlog. "The primary tumor has shrunk some, so that's good, but the tumor is still there. There's still cancer in the stomach."
"But what's worse, the lymph nodes that we were hoping would recede haven't receded so I'm not a candidate for surgery. And on top of that, the cancer has spread to more lymph nodes now throughout my chest," he said.
There are no signs that the cancer has spread to other organs, he added.
The apologist said he is yet uncertain as to what his next step will be. He explained that if the radiation would have been successful, he would have qualified for surgery. However, since it "didn't do a good enough job," he said he doesn't know what will happen next.
"So next week, we will be meeting with our medical oncologist who will be giving us whatever options we have now," he said. "There might be some new treatments that have come out, maybe some experimental ones that I could qualify for. I have no idea."
The apologist admitted the latest scan result was "the worst news" he has received since his cancer diagnosis because "the cancer is worse than it was when they first discovered it."
In November, Qureshi reported "remarkable" results from his scans, which showed "partial healing." At the time, he said the lymph nodes near the stomach no longer had cancer, and the only lymph node that was of concern was far from the stomach.
Several rounds of chemo later, he reported a "mixed scan" in that they did not know exactly what it showed. And now they discovered the cancer has spread to other lymph nodes.
He said hearing the news made him remember Lazarus, brother of Martha and Mary, whose story was written in the gospel of John in the New Testament. Lazarus' sisters were indignant with Jesus for not coming to heal their brother sooner, but what he did was a lot better than what they were hoping for: he raised Lazarus from the dead.
"It was an even greater miracle than otherwise expected," Qureshi said. "That's kind of where we are now. If this be for God's glory, it would be definitely more for His glory now because we're kind of past the point of medical treatment, or at least past the first line of medical treatment."
"I can't lose hope, I can't lose hope," the New York Times bestselling author said, adding, "there's a lot on the line, especially my daughter."
Qureshi said they will keep praying and doing what they can. One of the things he is considering is trying out alternative treatments for cancer.
"I hear about places in southern France and in Switzerland, some in Mexico. So who knows, maybe I'll check some of these things out," he said. "But my hope is still in the Lord. My hope is still in the Lord."
He thanked everyone who have been praying for him and asked them to continue lifting him up in prayer.
He also ended his Vlog in prayer, acknowledging the sovereignty of God over his life and declaring that God is "a miracle working God."
"I know that Your will is for life, and for life to the full," he prayed.
