In 2015, John Tesh was facing his own mortality. The pianist and composer was 63-years-old at the time and having a routine checkup. His doctor, feeling that something was not quite right with Tesh, ordered a digital rectal exam which would eventually lead to a biopsy. The biopsy revealed a rare form of prostate cancer. “I very quickly became a cancer patient,” he said in an interview with CBN News. “And so, I started making plans for my demise. It was 18 months to 2 years to live.” With such a grim prognosis, Tesh momentarily fell into despair. “When you’re in that situation — we thought I was terminally ill — that identity gives you a lot of free rein. The doctor wants you to have Vicodin so you can feel better, and people look the other way when you’re drinking scotch every night and mixing the two,” he told People.

Thankfully, Tesh’s wife of 30 years, Connie Selleca stepped in. “Ultimately my wife and I went toe-to-toe and she said, ‘I am not going to abide this. This is my battle too. And you’re giving up.’” John began researching his options, which led him to Dr. Patrick Walsh, a pioneer in the field of treatment for prostate cancer. Although Dr. Walsh had already retired by the time Tesh approached him for treatment, he was referred to one of Dr. Walsh’s mentees and underwent a prostatectomy. A Christian, Tesh also turned to God and faith healing. “God wants you well. It’s the other guy down below who really would like to kill, steal, and destroy,” he said in his CBN interview. His change in mentality was the missing key that really helped Tesh in his journey towards healing. “I’m not a sick person trying to get well; I’m a healed person resisting sickness,” he told Coping Magazine. He trusted in God’s healing and visualized positive things, such as what his life would look like when he turned 97.

By October 2020, Tesh seemed to have beaten the odds. But then he began to have horrible pains in his pelvis. A scan revealed that the cancer had returned, “with a vengeance,” he told Good Morning America. Tesh went right back into getting better, going through oral chemotherapy and Androgen Deprivation Therapy (ADT). Despite the recurrence and having only one functional kidney, Tesh remains optimistic. “If you believe you’re healed in your spirit, then you can work on getting that in your flesh. There are a lot of people in that space that would never go to a doctor, but I learned the hard way that it should be a collaboration. That God wants you well, and that you need to collaborate with the people who He has blessed and who are smart enough to help you kill this disease.”