Apologist and ministry leader Ravi Zacharias is currently battling a rare form of cancer. Yesterday, Zacharias’ daughter, Sarah Davis, shared a sobering update on her father’s health: The doctors have done all they can but are out of options for treatment. Zacharias has traveled home from Houston, where he was seeking treatment, to Atlanta to be with his family as they utilize “whatever time the Lord gives us.”
“We have just learned that while the tumor in my dad’s sacrum has been responding to the chemotherapy, the area where the cancer metastasized has actually worsened,” Davis, the CEO of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM), wrote in an update posted to the apologist’s Facebook page. “His oncologist informed us that this cancer is very rare in its aggression and that no options for further treatment remain. Medically speaking, they have done all they are able.”
Early in the year, the 74-year-old Zacharias told followers he had undergone an emergency back surgery in an effort to correct recurring back problems. His wife, Margie, took to Zacharias’ Facebook page to ask followers for prayers as Zacharias was in “extreme” pain following the surgery. A short while later, the apologist announced that during the procedure, doctors discovered a rare form of cancer. “While we have assumed this pain was a natural consequence of the surgery, we have learned in the past week that a biopsy taken during the procedure revealed that I have a malignant tumor on my sacrum—a very rare cancer called Sarcoma,” Zacharias wrote in an update.
Despite the freeze on most medical procedures due to the coronavirus, Zacharias was able to travel to Houston’s MD Anderson Cancer Center and undergo treatment in April. He shared an update with a picture of himself and Margie while in Houston. The couple celebrated their 48th wedding anniversary on May 6th.
During treatment, Zacharias also took the time to write a brief tribute to his late friend and colleague Nabeel Qureshi, who died of stomach cancer in 2017.
Now, the update from Davis indicates the apologist doesn’t have much time left. Davis, whose update was addressed to RZIM’s global staff writes: “One day, likely sooner than later, we will be serving without our beloved founder, though I know his love and legacy will convict and inspire us to service of his Lord even greater than we have seen before.” Despite this sobering reality, though, Davis says “While we are full of so many emotions, we are also at peace, resting in the truth that God knows all and sees all and is sovereign and good. I think of the great joy my dad will have, and I am comforted.”
Her update in its entirety is included below:
Dear Friends,
Thank you so much for your faithful prayers for my dad and for my family in recent months as he has undergone back surgery and treatment for cancer. Truly, words fail to convey the depths of our gratitude for your many expressions of love.