Telling your cancer story might be one of the most healing things you ever do... and almost nobody sees it coming. In this episode it's just me, no guest, because I want to share something I've watched happen with every single person who has sat down with me on this podcast.

Why Telling Your Cancer Story Heals You First

Here's the pattern. Our guests agreed to tell their story thinking they were doing it for someone else - someone newly diagnosed, scared, and looking for hope. And that absolutely happened. But almost every one of them told me afterward that it helped them even more.

I found the same thing when I recorded my own story. Usually I tell it in bits and pieces. Sitting down and telling the whole thing at once, I could finally see how the pieces fit together, and I saw God's hand in places I had missed while I was living it. As a result, it stopped feeling heavy. It became a story of how Jesus showed up.

That's what telling your cancer story does. You're taking what you've been holding onto so tightly and handing it to Jesus, out loud.

Six People, the Same Result

Six people from our Timberlake Cancer Group have now told their stories here, and none of us knew what the others would say. Even so, every one of us ended up in the same place: more peace, more hope, and a stronger faith. I'd encourage you to listen to them, not just for what they said, but for how they said it.

• Greg: Greg's Story - Surprises Are Opportunities for God
• Edison: Edison's Story of Surrender
• Doug DeFouw: Just Diagnosed With Cancer - WhatgDoug Would Tell You
• Brittany Plourde: start with Brittany's Story, Part One: I've Got This, and then hear where she lands in Part Three: Faith Without an Ending
• Dan Green: Dan's Story, Part Two: I've Never Asked God Why. And if you haven't heard all of Dan's series yet, make it your first stop after this one
• And mine, in three parts: The Diagnosis, When God Changed My Life, and Surgery, Prayer, and Peace

What the Bible Says About Telling Your Story

In Mark 5, Jesus sets free a man who had been living among the tombs, tormented and alone. Afterward, the man begs to go with Him. Instead, Jesus sends him home: "Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." And he did. He told "how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed" (Mark 5:19-20, NIV).

Jesus didn't ask him to preach or to be polished. He simply sent him home to tell his story.

Paul explains why it doesn't stop with you. God "comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God" (2 Corinthians 1:4, NIV). In other words, the comfort Jesus gave you was never meant to stop with you.

Thinking About Being a Guest? Here's What to Expect

If you've been thinking about telling your cancer story on our podcast, here's everything you need to know. It's short on purpose.

• There's nothing to prepare. It's a conversation, not an interview, and you already know everything we'll talk about because you lived it.
• We see each other on screen like a Zoom call, but I only record the audio.
• It lasts as long as you want it to, and we can stop any time, for any reason.
• If you stumble, just start the sentence again. I edit all of that out.
• Nothing gets published until you've heard it first. If there's anything you want cut, I cut it. No questions asked.

If that sounds like you, visit our Share Your Story page, or reach out to me directly through our contact page. I would absolutely love to hear from you.

Not Ready Yet? Start Smaller

Maybe you can't say it yet without coming apart. That's okay. Fear and doubt don't make you less of a believer; they make you human. If you're not ready, that isn't failure. It's timing.

So start smaller. Tell one person this week - not your whole story, just one piece of it. Or record it on your phone for your family. Telling your cancer story heals you and helps others, but recording it makes it last. Imagine your grandkids, years from now, hearing you tell them in your own voice what Jesus did for you. What a gift to leave them.

What You Will Hear in This Episode

• The pattern I noticed in every guest, and why it took me by surprise
• How my own cancer started with keeping things to myself, and what happened once my story got shared
• What six people discovered when they finally told their stories
• The man Jesus sent home to tell his story
• Three fears almost everyone has before saying yes, and the answers
• Why recording your story may be the biggest reason of all

You Probably Just Thought of Someone

Think about who you know who has a story that needs to be told. Maybe it's the friend you met in treatment, or the neighbor who beat it and never talks about it. Please send them this episode. Their story needs to be told, for them and for everyone who needs to hear it.

You Are Never Alone

Whether you tell one person, your family, or thousands, telling your cancer story is a gift to them and to you. Jesus sent that man home to tell what He had done for him, and He's inviting you to do the very same thing.

No matter what you are facing on your journey with cancer or in life, remember: you are NEVER ALONE. Jesus and the Holy Spirit are always with you and ready to help. All you have to do is ask, then give it all to Jesus and let Him go to work.

Maybe you can't say it yet without coming apart. That's okay. Fear and doubt don't make you less of a believer; they make you human. If you're not ready, that isn't failure. It's timing.

So start smaller. Tell one person this week - not your whole story, just one piece of it. Or record it on your phone for your family. Telling your cancer story heals you and helps others, but recording it makes it last. Imagine your grandkids, years from now, hearing you tell them in your own voice what Jesus did for you. What a gift to leave them.