Embracing the Journey

Cancer Survivors and Professors Thom Scott & Mark Farnham

Two professors. Two cancer diagnoses. Two treatment journeys. One hope.

On March 7, 2020, Thom Scott, Communication & Media Arts Professor at LBC | Capital, was diagnosed with a 26-centimeter cyst on his liver and a 7-centimeter carcinoma on his right kidney. After six months of treatment and an operation, he thought he was in the clear.

However, a follow-up MRI revealed an inoperable adenocarcinoma on his hepatic artery, and Thom’s doctors gave him a 6% chance of survival past five years.

“I can honestly say that when I was diagnosed with the first cancer, my response wasn’t fear or being upset at all,” Thom explained. “I actually felt peace—not in believing that I would live, but that whether I lived or went home to Jesus, all was fine, and God loves my family, students and friends even more than I do, so it would still be His best for all of us.”

But Thom is here today, more than three years after his first diagnosis. “God miraculously healed me, whether it was through medical treatment, holistic living, prayer or fasting—it was miraculous,” he said.

From the very beginning, Thom asked himself one question that set the tone for his subsequent treatment journey. “The biggest thing that helped was immediately asking, ‘Why ME?’ versus “WHY ME?’” he explained. “From that initial moment, I sought to embrace this journey and use it to further God’s kingdom and not simply endure it.”

And that’s just what Thom did. While undergoing treatment, he would purposely wear t-shirts that promoted phrases like, ‘Choose Joy’ and ‘God is Good,’ which confused hospital staff and opened doors to conversations. “God saved two nurses and encouraged countless other medical professionals through our multiple contacts every week,” Thom shared.

He “lived life out loud online and in the classroom,” sharing his journey with others. While dealing with poor sleep, oftentimes waking up for three to four hours a night, Thom dedicated this time to praying individually for his family, students and friends, before opening it up to his online community. He received personal prayer requests from hundreds of students and friends online that he was able to pray for.

“By embracing my journey and looking for ways to proactively use it for God’s kingdom, it made dealing with pain, exhaustion and uncertainty easy,” said Thom. “I was able to walk with joy and peace.”

Dr. Mark Farnham, Bible & Theology Professor and Director of the Master of Arts in Christian Apologetics program at LBC | Capital, experienced a cognitive episode in July 2019 that led to the discovery of a large pituitary tumor below his brain. The tumor was found nine years after Mark battled kidney disease and received a transplant. While preparing for surgery and checking Mark’s transplanted kidney, an ultrasound revealed a mass in his small bowel, which was determined to be lymphoma.

“Further testing confirmed that the cause of the lymphoma was the immunosuppressant medications I was required to take every 12 hours for the rest of my life so my body would not reject the transplanted kidney,” Mark explained. “So, my life-saving kidney transplant was ultimately the cause of my now life-threatening malignant lymphoma.”

In August 2019, Mark underwent surgery to remove the pituitary tumor, from which he recovered well. The lymphoma, however, would prove to be more problematic. Following a non-chemo infusion that his doctors were confident would combat the non-Hodgkin lymphoma, scans revealed no change in the size of the tumor. Mark began chemotherapy that October and completed treatment in March 2020.

Like Thom, Mark’s treatment time provided him ample opportunity to dig into God’s Word, grow in his faith and solidify his convictions.

“My six months of chemotherapy and isolation from others allowed me hours a day in the Word,” Mark said. “I came to treasure this time each day, even in the midst of growing weaker day by day. As we went through my cancer journey together, my wife, Adrienne, and I reveled in the goodness and glory of God in a way that strengthened me, despite the fact that I was wasting away.”

Mark said the most important thing he learned about God throughout this trial was that of His sovereignty. “To know that God was in absolute control, even in the worst moments of suffering was so comforting,” he elaborated. “Everything about my experience seemed out of control. The diagnosis kept getting worse over several months and my life felt like it was spinning out of control down to the grave. So trusting in God’s sovereignty was what kept us from despair.”

Similarly, Thom’s experience further confirmed his worldview, which has its underpinnings on three tenets:

1. No matter what happens, it’s not a surprise to God.

2. God is good and trustworthy.

3. All things work together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purposes.

“Having these doctrinal underpinnings,” Thom said, “gave me peace that passes all understanding.”

Cancer survivors and fellow LBC | Capital professors Thom Scott and Dr. Mark Farnham relied on several verses in Scripture throughout their journeys:

• “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” – James 1:2-4
• “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” – 2 Corinthians 12:9
• “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” – Romans 8:18
• “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.” – 2 Corinthians 4:17