When Yolanda Pratt heard the doctor tell her she had stage 4 breast cancer, she felt a cloud of fear and death instantly sweep over her. She had seen her father go through the horrors of chemotherapy and later die from cancer, and she dreaded the same thing happening to her. But while leaving the doctor’s office, Pratt heard the Lord give her three prophetic words that continue to carry her through her health battle. Now, she is working toward being cancer-free and teaching others how to do the same.
Pratt works in ministry with her husband, Ron, whose book, Navigating Your Faith, I had the privilege to publish. As the Pratts shared Yolanda’s story with me during lunch one day, I knew I had to interview her about her journey thus far. So in an exclusive interview for my “Strang Report” podcast, I asked her about what the Lord is teaching her, alternative types of treatment she’s pursuing and what advice she gives others battling this illness. To listen to our entire conversation, click here or scroll to the end of this article.
“The first thing God told me was ‘Yolanda, do not fear, because fear will kill you,'” she tells me. “The second thing He said was ‘Yolanda, go and speak every word in My Word. Believe every word in My Word.’ And third, [He said,] ‘This is not your death sentence.'”
Pratt was originally diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016. Because she saw her father go through the horrors of chemotherapy, she refused to go that route. Instead, she pursued natural methods, including eating vegan and juicing. Everything was going great until Pratt began feeling major pain in her hip in the summer of 2018. Thinking she had broken a bone in that area, she saw a doctor and instead learned she had stage 4 cancer that had metastasized in her hip, lower back, sternum and lungs.
But instead of caving to doubt and fear, Yolanda and Ron chose to declare God’s promises.
“When your doctors give you a diagnosis, it’s as if they give you a death sentence,” she says. “It’s as if they pass a cloud of death and fear to you. But we chose not to believe that. Many times, we’ve come out of doctors’ offices canceling out those word curses, canceling out that fear.”
I can understand the fear the Pratts experienced in the doctor’s office. A few years ago, I discovered I had stage 1 prostate cancer that was moving to stage 2. I shared my story in Charisma‘s February issue, and you can click here to read it. By God’s mercy, I have been cancer-free for five years, but I had my moments of struggling with fear.
Now facing cancer, Yolanda had to make a choice as to how she was going to combat it. Her doctor wanted her to undergo chemotherapy and radiation, but again, the Pratts didn’t feel peace about that route. So instead, they researched online and talked to friends, which led them to discover a doctor in Reno, Nevada, who does natural therapy along with chemo.
“Dr. James Forsythe … does immune therapy and low-dose chemo that is just right for your blood,” she says. “It matches your blood. They have what they call a Greek test. They actually take your blood, send it to Greece, and then they match it up with the 50 chemos [available.]”
The research lab in Greece discovered two types of chemo that worked with Pratt’s blood. Pratt did low-dose chemo two times a week, and three times a week, she went through immune therapy, which included receiving nutrients like Vitamin C, Vitamin D and glutathione via IV.
Pratt warns people struggling with cancer not to automatically reject conventional medicine, though.
“I would suggest not to say, ‘OK, I’m not going to go conventional, so I’m not going to see any doctors,” she says. “Many people do die of cancer because they wait till the very end, and then there’s no time. I continue to see my oncologist, even though I don’t take their exact diagnosis.”
And yet, she says, people must do their own research to find what will work best for their bodies. This includes physical and spiritual methods.
“I found my best medicine was the Word of God and is the Word of God,” Pratt says. “It’s just amazing. I have to speak God’s Word over my life, because the Word of God is life. It releases that faith. It reminds me of who [God] is and what He does. And if He says He’s the same God yesterday, today and forever—and if He healed then, over 2,000 years ago at the cross—He’s healing today.”
Pratt offers advice on Periscope to others battling cancer. She shares with her followers several resources that have helped her, including browsing chrisbeatcancer.com and looking up stories on YouTube of people who were healed of cancer—both supernaturally and through diet and exercise. But above all, she encourages people to press into God.
“I encourage you, of course, to pray and to go to God,” she says. “I’ve heard people say, ‘If there’s a God, why are there people dying of cancer?’ And I tell them, ‘Don’t run away from God during this time. If anything, you need God. Run to God during this time because you need Him, you need that direction, you need that peace, and you need that strength to know that there is more. There’s life after death, after the diagnosis of cancer.'”
If you met Pratt, you would think she is the perfect picture of health. And it’s not just because she’s taking control of her own health; it’s also because she holds onto God through this journey and trusts Him through this process.
To listen to my entire interview with Pratt, click the podcast below. And if you know anyone who is struggling with cancer, share this article with them and let it encourage and equip them.
Joyce Meyer 
Stephen Strang 
