LOS ANGELES, July 20, 2007
Tammy Faye Keeps The Faith
Evangelist Upbeat Despite Inoperable Cancer
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Tammy Faye Messner, shown here in January 2005, told Larry King Thursday that she weighs 65 pounds and can only eat chicken soup and rice pudding. (Getty Images/Frederick M. Brown)
"I talk to God every single day, and I say, 'God, my life is in your hands, and I trust you with me,"' she told CNN's Larry King Thursday.
Messner, 65, wearing heavy makeup and a matching red blouse and jacket, appeared emaciated and spoke in a raspy voice. She said she weighs only 65 pounds.
"All I eat is chicken soup and rice pudding," said Messner, who, in a message to fans and followers on her website, asks for prayers that she'll be able to keep her food down - and says past prayers have helped, since she's been able to gain five pounds.
A Quote
Messner was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1996 and announced in 2004 that the disease had spread to her lungs. Doctors have since stopped treating the disease, she has said."I talk to God every single day, and I say, 'God, my life is in your hands, and I trust you with me.'"
Asked Thursday night if she had a message for viewers, Messner said: "I genuinely love you, and I genuinely care. And I genuinely want to see you in heaven someday."
The minister and author is not forgotten by those she has inspired; some 228 pages of messages and prayers from well-wishers are posted on her website.
Messner is best known for, with her then-husband Jim Bakker, having built the PTL ("Praise The Lord") televangelism empire - a multimillion dollar operation that at one point included a television network and a theme park.
Messner divorced Bakker in 1992, while he was serving a sentence for financial fraud.
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- I pray that anyone with a negative comment is forgiven and never knows the pain, suffering, and despair that accompanies cancer. Blessings, to all.
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- BRIAN31462: I agree with you. I never really liked Tammy Fae, but I do respect her beliefs and what she did for people throughout the country and the world. May God give her peace and serenity. As for the idiots who like to bash Christians, know this: Jesus loves You!!! And if you don't like that, then that's too danm bad!!! Shut and Put up with it!!!
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- I never cared for her on PTL or her husband, but these m*r*ns who condemn someone, like Dylanxxv and matisyahu3, ought to consider just how imperfect they are before passing judgment on others.
May all the curses that he spew be heaped back upon you. - Reply to this comment
- I thought she was great on "Friends", I miss that show.
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- She is a better person than those who would criticize her, especially in this condition.
Bless you, Tammy Faye. - Reply to this comment
- No one deserves to suffer and die of cancer...
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