Weak faith during cancer is something almost none of us want to admit out loud. However, that is exactly why I wanted you to hear this conversation. In this episode, my friend Brittany Plourde takes us all the way back to 2018 and her very first cancer diagnosis. And she is remarkably honest about where her faith actually was in those days. It was nowhere near where it is today, and she will be the first one to tell you that.
THIS IS PART ONE OF THREE, AND I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO HEAR ALL THREE
Brittany’s story comes to us across three episodes, and here is why that matters so much. Most of the people I get to sit down with are describing a storm they have already come through. Brittany is not doing that. At the time we recorded this conversation in August of 2026, she was in active treatment, with no ending handed to her. So she is sitting exactly where many of you are sitting right now.
But you have to start here, in 2018. Because the woman you meet in this first episode is not the woman you will meet in the third one. Not even close.
WHAT WEAK FAITH DURING CANCER ACTUALLY SOUNDS LIKE
Brittany was in her very first year of teaching when the news came. Consequently, everything moved fast — the bleeding, the scans, the doctors who would not quite answer her, and then the diagnosis. She chose a double mastectomy. And through all of it, she was mostly carrying the weight by herself.
Her own words land better than anything I could write. A coworker asked how she was doing, and Brittany answered, "I can’t be one of those happy people who is just like, God’s got this. I’m just not doing great."
Later she summed up that entire season for me in one sentence: "I took the burden of it." She basically told God that He already had a lot going on, so she would go ahead and manage this one herself.
Now here is what I hope you catch in that. Brittany was not being rebellious. She was being human. And honestly, I did the very same thing at the beginning of my own cancer journey.
THE CAVE MOST OF US TRY TO CLIMB INTO
After her surgery, people wanted to help. They wanted to bring meals, come by, and sit with her. But Brittany did not want any of it. She told me she felt like she needed to climb into a cave and heal on her own.
She sees that very differently today, and she says so plainly in this episode. Above all, she wishes she had left the door open.
HE WAS THERE BEFORE SHE COULD SEE HIM
And here is the part of this episode I absolutely love.
Looking back now, Brittany can point at things she completely missed while she was living them. There was a book she happened to pick up in a Costco, of all places, that pointed her toward God. Furthermore, she and her husband had finally climbed out of debt about one year — one year — before she needed to stop worrying about money.
She could not see any of it at the time. Nevertheless, all of it was happening.
So later in our conversation, I asked her a question. If God had shown up in a big way back in those days, would she even have recognized it? Her answer stopped me cold. She said, "Thankfully it doesn’t matter if I could see it at that time. Thankfully He was still there."
Did you catch that? Let me say it again… it did not matter whether she could see Him. He was still there.
Jacob said almost exactly the same thing thousands of years ago. "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it." (Genesis 28:16)
So if you are living with weak faith during cancer tonight, please hear me. Jesus does not require you to feel Him in order for Him to be standing right there in the room with you.
YOU ARE NEVER ALONE
https://neveralonefaithovercancer.com/when-god-feels-distant-during-cancer/
No matter what you are facing on your journey with cancer or in life, remember this. You are NEVER ALONE. Jesus and the Holy Spirit are always with you and ready to help. All you have to do is ask, give it all to Jesus, and let Him go to work.
And if you do not have a relationship with Jesus — or if yours has grown stale, or weak, or you are just angry right now — I would strongly encourage you to visit our Accepting Jesus page. It will walk you through it and give you a prayer you can pray tonight, right where you are.
Part Two of Brittany’s story comes next, and I hope you will join us for it. May God bless you, and thank you so much for listening.