Recurrence of Ovarian Cancer Helps One Survivor Truly Understand the Importance of Prayer, Perseverance, and a Positive Attitude

Creator: Stephanie Watson
Published: 2020-10-12T15:12:08-04:00

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Finding Hope Through Faith During Cancer

Melinda Fiebig’s faith helped her face an ovarian cancer recurrence
She also had a strong support system made up of family, friends, and members of her church
Fiebig believes prayer, attitude, compassion, and treatment (PACT) work to the advantage of cancer patients

Melinda Fiebig says faith and prayer helped her find a sense of peace while she was being treated for ovarian cancer. But, she admits, there was a time when she felt afraid. It was when her doctor at Texas Oncology told her that her cancer had come back.

“I started crying there in her office,” says the 61-year-old. “I went home that day and my husband and I talked â€¦ I sat there on the end of the bed and I just told my husband, ‘I am scared.'”

But then she thought of her strong support system. Her husband, son, and two stepchildren. The family at her Austin, Texas-area church that had prayed for her ever since her diagnosis. And the “amazing” women she’d met while undergoing chemotherapy.

Related: Being Diagnosed With Ovarian Cancer, the Same Disease I Lost My Mom to, Tested My Faith And My Strength

Throughout her cancer journey, Fiebig has followed four central tenets, which she calls PACT: prayer, attitude, compassion, and treatment. "You need those first three for treatment to work, and I have lived by that every day," she says.

She's also found a sense of purpose from giving back to the cancer community. "I started volunteering at Texas Oncology, where I did my chemo treatments," she says. “One day a week for one hour, I would go up, pass out blankets and get water or anything for anybody that needed anything."

Like many cancer survivor, the experience of going through a recurrence has made Fiebig discover how strong and determined she really is. "It’s not that you want to have cancer, but I’ve learned that you make the best of it, and you keep going. You persevere and push through it," she says. "You keep that smile on your face and you just keep going."

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