“They need a reason to live” Powerful testimony of man with terminal cancer who is outliving his prognosis

Image credit: Screengrab via Christian Concern Youtube

A man in the UK has shared a powerful testimony after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer and is currently outliving his prognosis by four years.

In a YouTube video uploaded by Christian Concern, Cecil Harper, 64, interviewed by his daughter Storm, discusses how he was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2019 and given two years to live. A few weeks later, he was then diagnosed with a second cancer in his bladder, yet Harper has defied doctors’ expectations and has outlived his prognosis by four years.

The interview was conducted in light of the proposed assisted dying bill, that seeks to legalise assisted dying for those with a terminal illness and given six months to live, where Harper explains that he was left feeling shell shocked after receiving his diagnosis and prognosis.

“I was just so shell shocked” he said. “I didn’t have any emotions at the time until I walked out of the hospital” he said. “I walked out of the hospital and I sat down on some benches outside the hospital and I thought ‘why me?...I can’t believe this is happening, I’ve been given a death sentence of two years.”

When asked how did he go from a two year prognosis to still being alive today he said: “Well, first of all, I have to give thanks to the Lord Almighty…I have to give thanks to the Lord for bringing me through this journey. And two, I suppose even the doctors are surprised I’m still here two years later.”

“We’ve had some really good doctors over the years but have you ever felt like some of the doctors have, you know, written you off or seen you as less valuable because of your prognosis?” Storm asked her father.

“I have felt more recently that yes,” Harper answered. “I felt that I’ve been written off in this sense of, oh well you’ve got cancer…[we will] do what we can for you for a certain length of time and after, you know, you’ve had five years, you’ve had more time that you should and now maybe we’ll just shove you off to the hospice.”

Harper continues to explain that he had to fight to be given treatment that he said helped him and resulted in him having to take less pain relief afterwards. “Within weeks, I’m feeling much much better” he said.

Referring to concerns that the legalisation of assisted suicide would reduce funds towards treatments for patients, Storm asked how Harper feels that the assisted dying bill “will affect those that want to live and want to have a better quality of life?”

“I think what could happen when some people are at a low point, they’re at a very very low point, they’re not feeling well, they’re in pain and at that point, and if they’ve got not enough family support around them and support of friends…you may think that’s what you want and if it’s there for you, you may miss out on the fact that you could come through that, get through that, and get better.

He added that if he had been given the choice to die, he would have “missed out on so many things” specifically saying he would not have met his grandson.

When asked what terminally ill people need, Harper said: “People need a reason to live. They need a reason to live.”

“My family are routing for me so much,” he continued. “They want me to be around. There’s been times when I felt like I wanted to, could have given up, but because I know that my family, my offspring, they are all routing for me, that makes me want to live as well. And the faith that I have, that I can put my worry onto the Lord.”

“We are all going to die one day, but when you can put your faith and trust in the Lord, it does help,” he added.

Lastly when asked what makes his life valuable now, he discusses how when he lost the ability to play the piano due to his hands seizing up, he started to arrange family gatherings to help resolve issues within the family and support them. “There are other things you can do. Even when you can’t do any physical stuff, there’s so much things you can do with your mind, your mouth. You can talk. There is a purpose for everybody. When you feel like you haven’t got a purpose, that’s when you might feel like you want to end it all. But there’s always a purpose.”

“So, I’m hearing that there’s value in everyone at every stage. Thank you so much for having a chat with me,” Storm concluded.

Last week, Life Institute reported on the current situation of the proposed assisted suicide bill in the UK where it saw a strong opposition in the House of Lords, leading Peers to declare that the bill may be on course to be rejected. In an update from Right to Life UK, the second day of the debate found the same trend occurred with over 60% in opposition to the bill, where the organisation said it was “a big win for opponents of the assisted suicide Bill”. It is now looking more hopeful that the bill may never become law.

Sandra Parda of the Life Institute commented saying: “What a remarkable testimony and one everyone must hear! Of course people can feel like there is no point in living after receiving a terminal diagnosis, but the solution to this is to not offer death, but to offer hope and help people find a purpose in life in the midst of their suffering.”

“There are many concerns surrounding assisted suicide,” she added, “and we hope Harper’s encouraging words will be heard by many and urge people to rethink the idea of legalising assisted suicide, and instead think more about how can we help people want to live during such a difficult time.”