Dodie Osteen, the matriarch of America’s beloved Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas, used a terminal cancer diagnosis and turned it into a testimony of God’s faithfulness that she’s been sharing with the world for more than 38 years.

Cancer. The six letter word that brings most people to their knees, leaving them with little to no hope.

While attending her son Paul’s graduation ceremony from medical school in October of 1981, Paul noticed that his mother had lost a considerable amount of weight. Her skin and eyes were jaundice, so he suggested she see a doctor right away.

Shortly after, 48-year-old Dodie, made an appointment with a physician. She was preparing for a pastor’s conference when the doctor decided to admit her to the hospital for a few days of testing and x-rays.

What was only meant to be a couple of days, turned into 20.

“On December 10th of 1981, they did a liver biopsy and we got the news that it was metastatic cancer of the liver. A tumor the size of an orange, plus two almond shaped ones,” she explained.

Dodie recalled the doctor meeting with her late husband, John, in the lobby of the hospital, and sharing the devastating news that she wouldn’t live more than a few weeks.

“The doctor stated, ‘There is nothing we can do. We can give her chemo, but it won’t prolong her life.’”

“Oh my. You couldn’t believe it. I said no, I can’t have cancer! I’ve prayed against it all these years, I’ve confessed the Word of God,” Dodie remembers saying.

“But you know, doctors have facts. We have the report of Jesus. And I just thought, surely God will bring me through this. He’s not going to let me down.”

Because no medicine could help her, she relied solely on her faith in God.

The next morning, Dodie and her husband John woke up and laid at the foot of their bed.

John prayed, “Jesus, I need my wife. The church needs her, the children need her, and you need her, Jesus. So I speak to this cancer. I curse it at the roots like Jesus did at the fig tree. I command you to leave her and never come back again.”

Dodie explained, “My husband, the head of the house, prayed. And when I got up I just said, that’s it, I’m healed!”

From that moment on, wherever she went, Dodie thanked God for her healing.

“I just did everything I knew to do, and Jesus made the dream come true.”

As time passed, Dodie continued to walk by faith even though discouragement surrounded her.

The middle of the night was the toughest. She’d hear lies playing in her head, “you’re not gonna live, you’re gonna wear that pink dress in your closet for your funeral.”

Her husband encouraged her to combat the negative thoughts with the Word of God.

“I just spent most of my time replacing those bad thoughts with good thoughts and I came through. Everyday means so much to me because Jesus has let me live.”

In an effort to hold fast to her faith, the esteemed mother of six placed two pictures on her mirror. One of her wedding day and the other of herself riding a horse during a family vacation.

This was one of many ways Dodie pictured herself healthy and well. They served as constant daily reminders of her healing.

She felt it impressed on her heart to write letters to her husband, her kids and a pastor friend asking for forgiveness because she hadn’t been acting herself lately.

“When I cleared my mind and heart, I just felt so clean inside. I felt like I really was healed,” she explained.

Shortly after Dodie was diagnosed with cancer, she compiled a list of 62 healing scriptures. Those scriptures became her daily dose of medication.

“I read them everyday. Since they couldn’t do chemo, since they couldn’t take a lobe of my liver out, or treat me in anyway, I just decided this is going to be my medication.”

She didn’t go back to the doctor for 10 years after the diagnosis. There is no medical explanation how she is cancer free.

Today, more than three decades after the diagnosis, Dodie is thriving. She hosts monthly prayer events at Lakewood Church and travels with her son, Joel Osteen, sharing her testimony and offering a message of hope for people facing impossible situations.

“No case in the world is hopeless when you have Jesus because Jesus is our hope, Jesus is our courage.”