Stacey Dozer

October 4, 2026
optimizing

When Fear Says “You Won’t Make It,” Trusting God Through Cancer. After losing her mother to breast cancer, Stacey was terrified when she received the same diagnosis herself. As she faced chemotherapy, a double mastectomy, exhaustion, and the fear of leaving her daughters behind, God met her in the middle of her suffering and taught her to trust Him as her Healer. Her story is a powerful reminder that even the seasons we never would have chosen can become places where God strengthens our faith and uses our testimony to encourage others. “For Scripture says to Pharaoh: ‘I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.’” (Romans 9:17 NIV)

Full Transcript

Stacey and her husband, Scott, have been together since they were teenagers. Mother of two adult women, Stacey is also the development officer at Dare 2 Share, a ministry that empowers teens and young adults to share the gospel through their stories.  

She has been through difficult trials, from losing her mom to cancer and miscarrying her first child. But through it all, Stacey is trusting God.  

“There are three stages to every great work of God; first it is impossible, then it is difficult, then it is done.” —Hudson Taylor. 

First, It’s Impossible 

For Stacey, everything else faded into silence. The only sound left was the deafening revelation from the doctor; she had breast cancer. Stacey clung to her husband, Scott, as the news reverberated through her core. Compared to her hand, his hand was steady.  

“I’m sorry,” she said to Scott. It was all she could think to say. But Scott held her hand tighter and said, “No. We’ll thank God for this. We will give God praise for this cancer.” 

And right there, he led them into a prayer of honoring and thanking Jesus. But Stacey could not bring herself to pray. Instead, she thought about her mom who had lost her battle with breast cancer. She was the bravest woman Stacey had ever known. During her battle with cancer, she made little buttons for the other patients at the hospital. Attitude Up it had said, with the T in the middle looking like an upward-facing arrow. Her mom had fought bravely, praying constantly, her faith never wavering. Still, she’d left thirteen-year-old Stacey without a mom. 

While navigating her grief, Stacey came to see her mom’s passing as God’s way of healing her. But now, all she could remember was the ugliness of it. Her mom had fought, yet she had died. Was Stacey going to die too? 

Next, It’s Difficult: 

Three weeks after her diagnosis, Stacey started her treatment, and the doctors were optimistic. She was stage two, and they were positive she would make it. Stacey tried to be positive too. She thought about her mom and how hard she had fought it, and Stacey decided to fight just as hard. 

With that determination, she went into treatment. She shaved her head and got a cute wig. It’s just hair, she thought as she stared at her bald head in the mirror. It will grow back. Her chemo began, and for the first time, Stacey understood perfectly how it was for her mom. By the third day of chemo, Stacey could not do anything except lay down and cry. She felt horrible.  

As the weeks went by, the side effects from the chemo got worse. She lost her sense of taste, and though her church community made sure the Dozers didn’t lack food, she couldn’t taste any of it. She was constantly exhausted, and soon she developed rashes. Stacey was miserable.  

She’d known it would be hard, but she didn’t think it would be this difficult. She got so weak that standing became difficult. It was in moments like that, that Scott wondered whether she would make it, whether he would have to raise their girls all by himself. He and Stacey chose to fix their eyes on Jesus from the start, but it didn’t stop the devil from planting seeds of doubt and fear. 

Still, it was in those moments that Stacey felt God the most. She would lie down, listening to worship songs and sermons, and feel God’s love flow through her. She read the Bible more, soaking herself in God’s Word; now more than ever, it held a newer and deeper meaning for her.  

She began to see her cancer as a journey—one God was using to draw her and others closer to him. Through the months of chemo, nestled in the arms of God who saw her and empathized with her suffering, her cancer moved from impossible to difficult. 

Six months after chemo, the doctor called Stacey and Scott to let them know Stacey would need a double mastectomy. 

“It’s to reduce the chances of recurrence,” the doctor said. 

Stacey was heartbroken. How could she remove her breasts? What if she did and the cancer still returned? She agonized over it for days, but there was no way around it. Finally, she decided. She trusted her doctors, but more than them, she trusted God. He was her Healer. 

Then, It’s Done 

After the surgery, Stacey went back to work. She tried to keep her mind engaged with her work at Dare 2 Share. God was her Healer, she thought constantly. The words of Exodus 14:14 comforted her: “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” 

And that was the state Stacey was in when she got the news. The chemo and surgery had worked! She was cancer free! Stacey wept with joy. It had been a hard race, but they had made it. 

In the coming months, Stacey was inspired to share her story with anyone who would listen, and she went around speaking to cancer survivors like her and patients still going through it. At her first talk with more than 300 cancer survivors, many came to her afterward to tell her how much her story meant to them.  

One day, on her way back from the airport, Stacey saw a woman. She had a little hat on her shaved head and a T-shirt that read: “I can beat this.” Stacey knew immediately the woman had cancer. Moved to share her story, she was apprehensive about how the woman would receive it. But courage won over fear, and Stacey shared her story, prayed with her, and led her to Jesus. When she was done, the woman walked away, looking much lighter. 

And as Stacey watched her go, the words of Romans 9:17 came to her: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 

Her journey with cancer had not been pointless. It had strengthened her faith in God, and now it would strengthen the faith of others too. 

Paul said, “For Scripture says to Pharaoh: ‘I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth’” (Romans 9:17 NIV). 

Stacey and her husband, Scott, have been together since they were teenagers. Mother of two adult women, Stacey is also the development officer at Dare 2 Share, a ministry that empowers teens and young adults to share the gospel through their stories.

She has been through difficult trials, from losing her mom to cancer and miscarrying her first child. But through it all, Stacey is trusting God.

“There are three stages to every great work of God; first it is impossible, then it is difficult, then it is done.” —Hudson Taylor.

First, It’s Impossible

For Stacey, everything else faded into silence. The only sound left was the deafening revelation from the doctor; she had breast cancer. Stacey clung to her husband, Scott, as the news reverberated through her core. Compared to her hand, his hand was steady.

“I’m sorry,” she said to Scott. It was all she could think to say. But Scott held her hand tighter and said, “No. We’ll thank God for this. We will give God praise for this cancer.”

And right there, he led them into a prayer of honoring and thanking Jesus. But Stacey could not bring herself to pray. Instead, she thought about her mom who had lost her battle with breast cancer. She was the bravest woman Stacey had ever known. During her battle with cancer, she made little buttons for the other patients at the hospital. Attitude Up it had said, with the T in the middle looking like an upward-facing arrow. Her mom had fought bravely, praying constantly, her faith never wavering. Still, she’d left thirteen-year-old Stacey without a mom.

While navigating her grief, Stacey came to see her mom’s passing as God’s way of healing her. But now, all she could remember was the ugliness of it. Her mom had fought, yet she had died. Was Stacey going to die too?

Next, It’s Difficult:

Three weeks after her diagnosis, Stacey started her treatment, and the doctors were optimistic. She was stage two, and they were positive she would make it. Stacey tried to be positive too. She thought about her mom and how hard she had fought it, and Stacey decided to fight just as hard.

With that determination, she went into treatment. She shaved her head and got a cute wig. It’s just hair, she thought as she stared at her bald head in the mirror. It will grow back. Her chemo began, and for the first time, Stacey understood perfectly how it was for her mom. By the third day of chemo, Stacey could not do anything except lay down and cry. She felt horrible.

As the weeks went by, the side effects from the chemo got worse. She lost her sense of taste, and though her church community made sure the Dozers didn’t lack food, she couldn’t taste any of it. She was constantly exhausted, and soon she developed rashes. Stacey was miserable.

She’d known it would be hard, but she didn’t think it would be this difficult. She got so weak that standing became difficult. It was in moments like that, that Scott wondered whether she would make it, whether he would have to raise their girls all by himself. He and Stacey chose to fix their eyes on Jesus from the start, but it didn’t stop the devil from planting seeds of doubt and fear.

Still, it was in those moments that Stacey felt God the most. She would lie down, listening to worship songs and sermons, and feel God’s love flow through her. She read the Bible more, soaking herself in God’s Word; now more than ever, it held a newer and deeper meaning for her.

She began to see her cancer as a journey—one God was using to draw her and others closer to him. Through the months of chemo, nestled in the arms of God who saw her and empathized with her suffering, her cancer moved from impossible to difficult.

Six months after chemo, the doctor called Stacey and Scott to let them know Stacey would need a double mastectomy.

“It’s to reduce the chances of recurrence,” the doctor said.

Stacey was heartbroken. How could she remove her breasts? What if she did and the cancer still returned? She agonized over it for days, but there was no way around it. Finally, she decided. She trusted her doctors, but more than them, she trusted God. He was her Healer.

Then, It’s Done

After the surgery, Stacey went back to work. She tried to keep her mind engaged with her work at Dare 2 Share. God was her Healer, she thought constantly. The words of Exodus 14:14 comforted her: “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

And that was the state Stacey was in when she got the news. The chemo and surgery had worked! She was cancer free! Stacey wept with joy. It had been a hard race, but they had made it.

In the coming months, Stacey was inspired to share her story with anyone who would listen, and she went around speaking to cancer survivors like her and patients still going through it. At her first talk with more than 300 cancer survivors, many came to her afterward to tell her how much her story meant to them.

One day, on her way back from the airport, Stacey saw a woman. She had a little hat on her shaved head and a T-shirt that read: “I can beat this.” Stacey knew immediately the woman had cancer. Moved to share her story, she was apprehensive about how the woman would receive it. But courage won over fear, and Stacey shared her story, prayed with her, and led her to Jesus. When she was done, the woman walked away, looking much lighter.

And as Stacey watched her go, the words of Romans 9:17 came to her: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”

Her journey with cancer had not been pointless. It had strengthened her faith in God, and now it would strengthen the faith of others too.

Paul said, “For Scripture says to Pharaoh: ‘I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth’” (Romans 9:17 NIV).