Crystal Cathedral Ministries Founder Robert H. Schuller Undergoing Cancer Treatment
Crystal Cathedral Ministries founder Robert H. Schuller, who is also the former host of the "Hour of Power" broadcast, recently began treatment for esophageal cancer, it was announced during a recent sermon.
Schuller's daughter, Sheila Schuller Coleman, made the announcement about the treatments and her father's readiness for the next life last week.
"Dad knows he has cancer…And when he was told he has cancer, he said, without flinching, 'I'm ready to go home and be with Jesus'," said Coleman.
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The 86-year-old former head of Crystal Cathedral Ministries is not expected to live for more than a couple years even with treatment, according to his family.
"Coleman made the announcement toward the end of her sermon, saying the family had spent time praying with Schuller and reflecting on his life. She was getting ready to call mortuaries," wrote Douglas Morino of the Orange County Register. "An oncologist, however, later told Schuller that chemotherapy and radiation could extend his life for two years."
The news comes not long after another health scare for Schuller. Back in July, he experienced a fall at home and had to be hospitalized.
"He just lost his balance. We took him in to make sure, because you just never know…They're just being extra cautious and taking their time," said Coleman at the time.
As part of the growing fundamentalist and evangelical revival of the 1970s and 1980s, Schuller founded the Crystal Cathedral, a megachurch whose large glass-walled sanctuary became an iconic symbol of evangelical Protestant America.
In 2010, Crystal Cathedral Ministries filed for bankruptcy. Two years later Schuller stepped down from the church's board.
Afterwards, legal issues abounded between CCM and the Schuller family, especially regarding the amount of annual monetary benefits the Schullers were expecting upon retirement.
To resolve its financial woes, CCM ended up selling its famed glass sanctuary to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange County, which recently converted it into "Christ Cathedral."
