John Paul Jackson Shares Intimate Details and Some Good News About His Cancer Surgery

Jennifer Leclaire : Jul 16, 2014
Charisma News

"To God's glory they were able to save the sciatic nerve... [I am] learning to walk again and strengthening the leg, since I lost 80 percent of my hamstring and 40 percent of my buttocks. God is faithful and just, and I am alive due to that truth." -John Paul Jackson

John Paul Jackson, perhaps best known for his prophetic dream interpretations, was diagnosed with cancer in May. Doctors found a large, aggressive cancerous growth in his leg that demanded immediate treatment. (Photo via Charisma News)

He offered Charisma News an exclusive update on his progress in a battle he vowed to fight on his knees. Jackson tells us the surgery was like a double-edged sword: It went better than he thought, but it also served up a major dilemma.

"The dilemma was that the tumor turned out to go much deeper than the doctors thought from the MRI, PET scan and CAT scan," Jackson says. "That posed extreme danger to the sciatic nerve."

The good news, he shares, is the swelling was not as bad as the doctors originally thought. That means Jackson only has to undergo one operation instead of two.

BCN note—The July 9 Update on Jackson's Steams Ministry International webpage read:

We're happy to report that John Paul's surgery went extremely well. Doctors removed a "nerf football sized" tumor from the back of his leg and were able to do so without damaging the sciatic nerve. What was most encouraging was that the tumor itself was encapsulated in a specific area and hadn't spread into adjacent muscle fibers. This gave the surgeons a very confident feeling that they were able to remove all of the cancerous tissue. The surgery took 4 1/2 hours but due to the minimal amount of fluid buildup a second surgery will not be needed. This means John Paul should be home in 5-7 days instead of up to 10 days with the original 2-stage surgical plan. Praise God!

There have been so many answers to prayer throughout this process and one of them has been the world-class quality of John Paul's surgery team. Both surgical specialists who worked on John Paul are the top experts in their field. To have them both available was an incredible blessing.

Please continue to pray for John Paul's recovery. Although John Paul will walk again, it's not a given that he will ever be able to run again. However, we believe that prayer can change that.