Tim Keller’s son shares update on dad’s treatment: ‘Things were scary for a bit … he is doing much better’
Theologian Tim Keller’s son shared an update about his father's immunotherapy treatment amid his ongoing battle with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, saying, “things were scary for a bit” due to the side effects, but “now he is doing much better.”
“Things were scary for a bit but God was gracious, working through your prayers and the skill of the doctors, and now he is doing much better,” wrote Michael Keller, son of the founder of Redeemer Presbyterian Church and City to City.
“He is due to be released from the hospital next week and will have ongoing outpatient treatments for a while,” he continued in the tweet from his father’s account on Friday. “Please continue to pray over the next 6 months as we wait on the Lord (Psalm 130) to destroy the cancer. We are hopeful.”
Get Our Latest News for FREE
The update comes days after Michel wrote a separate post on Facebook Tuesday: “Dad is currently dealing with the side effects of an immunotherapy treatment that he is undergoing. We ask that you continue to pray for Dad’s healing and for the decisions of his doctors and medical team who continue to provide excellent, compassionate care. Thank you for the outpouring of love and support. We deeply covet your prayers at this time.”
Last month, the 71-year-old Christian author and speaker shared on social media that he was “celebrating the two-year anniversary of my diagnosis with pancreatic cancer,” explaining that he can call it a “celebration with justification as the chemotherapies have reduced the stage 4 cancer that was found and God has seen it fit to give me more time.”
However, Keller added, “we are also moving onto an immunotherapy trial at the National Cancer Center in Bethesda, Maryland, as of June 1. This has shown great promise in potentially curing cancer, though it is a rigorous and demanding month-long program (that will need updates up to six months).”
Keller was diagnosed with cancer in May 2020.
In a health update he gave supporters last September, he wrote, “I was granted a ‘chemo holiday’ (missing one treatment) and was able to get out of town with my family for several weeks. On Aug. 23, I had a scan and the primary tumor had not progressed. However, a mystery lump underneath the May surgical scar was removed and proved to be cancerous.”
“Pancreatic cancer is able to learn how to evade medication, so it is only God’s power that we look to for complete healing,” the author of Hope in Times of Fear said at the time.
Keller is also a survivor of thyroid cancer, which he had in 2002.
