The Olympic gold medalist figure skater Scott Hamilton, 65, is speaking out this week to open up about how he’s leaned on his faith to get him through battles with various cancers over the past thirty years.
Hamilton Leans On Faith Amidst Cancer Battles
People Magazine reported that Hamilton was first diagnosed with testicular cancer in 1997. He was able to beat the disease with surgery and chemotherapy. He was later diagnosed with three benign pituitary tumors in 2004, 2010 and 2016, and it was this that ultimately led him to lean on his faith more than ever.
“And it was the most powerful… I’ve had a lot of big moments, that was probably the biggest,” Hamilton said while appearing on The Jennifer Hudson Show on Thursday.
After taking the initial biopsy of his first tumor, Hamilton was told that he “was born with it.”
“And then six years later it came back, and there was a surgery that didn’t go quite as planned, which turned into nine surgeries,” he continued. “And then six years later – there’s a pattern emerging here – I came back again and this time I just felt… They’re giving me a surgical option and a medical option and I was like, all I felt in the back of my head was: Get strong. That was it. Just get strong.”
Hamilton’s Miracle From God
When asked if he wanted surgery or medicine to treat the tumor, Hamilton told his doctors, “’I’m gonna go home and I’m gonna get strong.’ And they go, ‘What does that look like?’ and I said, ‘I have no idea. I’m just feeling this.’”
The tumor ended up shrinking by “45%” with no treatment, and Hamilton remembered a conversation he had with his doctor afterwards.
“I said to the surgeon, I go, ‘Can you explain that?’ And he goes, ‘God.’ I go, ‘Good enough for me,'” he recalled.
Hudson responded by saying that this story gave her “chills,” adding that “this is a walking testimony.”
Hamilton has no regrets about not seeking treatment. He said, “I’ve never been stronger in my faith, I’ve never been stronger emotionally or intellectually.”
Check out this full segment in the video below.
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Hamilton Living Life ‘Faithfully’
Earlier this week, Hamilton said that his Christian faith allows him to live his life with a positive attitude.
“I’m living my life, and I’m living it joyfully, productively, faithfully,” Hamilton told Fox News.
“It feels like for every single moment, good or bad, to be considered an opportunity – that’s kind of where I’m really most grateful,” he continued. “Yeah, cancer wasn’t fun. It wasn’t easy. But it was an opportunity for me to step into the cancer community, not just as a fundraiser, but as a survivor now who understands what it feels like to go through cancer, understands what chemotherapy is, understands what post-surgical issues are.”
Hamilton’s story just goes to show how powerful Christian faith can be. God bless Hamilton, and may he have many more years of good health to come!