Ray Hayworth: Cancer Cast Out - Christian Broadcasting Network
By Dory Nissen and Aaron Little
CBN.com – Ray and Billie Hayworth are pretty happy with where they are in life. Their kids are grown and gone. They’ve been married over 46 years and still consider themselves best friends. But their lives were altered dramatically when Ray found a golf ball size lump on his neck. At first, he saw no reason for concern.
"That first day, even for the first week, I really had no thought of what the results would be," Ray said. "I wasn’t worried about it. There was no pain. So if there is no pain, there is no worry.”
Billie was immediately alarmed.
“I kept noticing him do this [feeling his neck],” Billie said. “And I said, ‘why do you keep doing that?’ And then he said, ‘well look at this. I’ve got this knot on my neck.’ I thought it was cancer instantly, immediately. And I said, ‘oh, honey. This isn’t good; I don’t think this is good.’”
"My wife caused me to realize the severity of it and the importance of getting some answers," Ray said.
Ray’s doctor called with the results of the biopsy. Billie answered the phone.
"And I said, 'please tell me, is it cancer?' And she said, 'yes it is cancer,'" Billie said.
Ray had not one, but two types of cancer: carcinoma and melanoma.
"Our worlds actually stopped," Ray said. "Probably the lowest part of my life is when the doctor said, ‘you have cancer.’ Your heart goes to the bottom at that point.”
"At night, I would lay my hands on his neck and he’d be sleeping away," Billie said. "And I would say, 'Satan, how dare you! How dare you come against us like this! Greater is He, God, who is in us!' And I would just yell out, 'I command you in the name of Jesus, you get off; you get off of his neck!"
Friends and family started praying.
"That really meant the world," Ray said. "It lightens your load. You don’t feel like you are carrying it yourself and that elates me."
The lump went completely away! A trip to the doctor confirmed the cancer was completely gone.
"The doctor walked in with a big smile on her face and immediately relieved our fears," Billie said. "She looked at Ray and said, 'I don’t know what you did, but whatever you did, don’t stop. Keep doing it. And he just raised his hands and said, 'thank you Jesus, thank you Jesus.' I looked at her and I said, 'Doctor, we just prayed and God healed him.'"
"I was elated when the doctor said there was no cancer," Ray recalled. "None of the scans showed it; there was no evidence of any cancer in my body. I was very happy for that and told her that. For her sake and for medical science sake, I went back and took another MRI and it was negative also."
Ray has had no sign of cancer for three years. He says the Lord gave him a scripture that signifies God’s amazing power.
“Be still and know that I am God. That’s my theme for the rest of my life," Ray said, “to know that God is still there."
