Jesusfreakhideout.com Music News, October 2012: Dan Dean of Phillips, Craig & Dean Announces He Is Recovering From Battle with Prostate Cancer

Dan Dean of Phillips, Craig & Dean Announces He Is Recovering From Battle with Prostate Cancer

NEWS SOURCE: The M Collective
October 22, 2012

Nashville, Tenn. (October 22, 2012) - Dan Dean of the beloved, Dove Award-winning trio Phillips, Craig & Dean, recently announced that he has been battling prostate cancer. The worship leader and senior pastor of The Heartland Church in Carrollton, Tex., was diagnosed early this spring, just prior to the the release of Phillips, Craig & Dean's most recent album, Breathe In. Dean recently sat down for an intimate video interview in which he shares the news of his diagnosis, the stuggles his illness has created and, ultimately, the faith-strengthening, emotional experience he's had. Since his initial diagnosis, he has made great progress in his journey on the long road toward recovery and remission.

"You find out some devastating news, you get a phone call, you're standing in a corridor at the hospital, and in those moments, you have a choice to make," Dean reflects on learning he had cancer. "You can fall into doubt, and questions and fears. The temptation is there for all of us to do that. In the moments when I can't see God's hand, or see His face working in my life, I make a choice to believe that He's there, that He's involved in the daily affairs of my life, that He's in control, that He knows what I'm walking through."

In July, Dean, with his family, chose to have surgery to attempt to remove the cancer from his lymph nodes. Post-surgery, the doctors were confident that his lymph nodes were clear and that he is on his way to experiencing a normal life. Dean plans on making routine checkups with his doctors over the next several months and considers himself "80% recovered and moving along rather well."

Dean is not the first in his family to battle this disease. Prior to his cancer journey, Dean lost his father-in-law to liver cancer and his brother to mesothelioma. A song originally inspired by his brother's illness, "I Choose to Believe" (from Phillips, Craig & Dean's most recent album, Breathe In), now has a special meaning all it's own to Dean.

"Until you've experienced somebody looking at you in the face and saying you have cancer, you don't know what that's like until you've been there," Dean says. "You don't know the negative thought process that tries to attack you and come at you, and then how you have to build your faith. That's when you can say, as the chorus of this song declares, 'I choose to believe.'"

For more information on Dean's cancer battle and to hear his story in his own words, please visit http://youtu.be/MEUilCx8lUU to watch an intimate video interview with the singer, songwriter and pastor.

In addition to his musical career with Phillips, Craig, & Dean, Dan Dean serves as the Senior Pastor at Heartland Church in Carrolton, Tex., and is a husband to Becky and father to Dusty (29), Devin (26), and Danielle (23).

About Phillips, Craig & Dean:
Since forming more than 20 years ago, Phillips, Craig & Dean have released 12 albums which have now produced 20 No. 1 radio hits, almost three million records sold, two GMA Dove Award wins, including the Inspirational Album of the Year for their 2009 release, Fearless, and Inspirational Song of the Year for their single "Revelation Song," released in 2010.

[Get Connected with Phillips, Craig & Dean]
Website // http://www.phillipscraiganddean.com
Facebook // http://facebook.com/pcdguys
Twitter // http://twitter.com/pcdguys

For more info on Phillips, Craig & Dean visit the JFH Artists Database.