Where is ... David Smith (cont'd)

Not only was Smith's cancer a particularly aggressive form of the disease -- he'd had a perfectly clean examination just a couple of years before -- it was also relatively rare.

Doctors threw everything they could possibly throw at the tumor. Smith underwent three months of chemotherapy, as well as hormone shots. For years, he'd been taking vitamins and drinking an herbal tea, and he's convinced that helped, too.

His PSA went back down to 0, but Smith was advised that he needed to have his prostate removed altogether in order to prevent cancerous cells from spreading to other parts of his body. He held off as long as possible, hoping against hope that the radical surgery wouldn't be necessary. In August, some of the symptoms started all over again.

That was it. Smith went through with the surgery Oct. 2, and from all indications, he is now cancer-free.

"God blessed, and a lot of people prayed," Smith said. "That's what's brought me through this, I know. They did the surgery, and it was contained in the prostate. It had not spread outside it. ... Right now, there are no further treatments planned for me. Again, I just thank God for that."

What makes Smith's dedication all the more amazing is that he has faced his cancer without benefit of insurance. When he first left RCR, Smith tried to pay for it on his own, but of course, it was so incredibly expensive. His church, Freedom Baptist Church in Rural Hall, N.C., took up an offering for Smith as he went through his chemotherapy.

Then, the surgery presented a whole new set of bills. That said, Smith has no regrets about leaving RCR.

"I'm in a little bit of a tough situation," Smith said. "There's a tremendous amount of expense that has piled up. God's supplying. It's gonna work out. I told them guys [at RCR], 'Y'all be thankful for what you've got here because these benefits are incredible, especially when you get out here and experience what I have.' I know the Lord works in strange and mysterious ways. I've trusted Him on everything, still do. But sometimes we get tested. I know that God's gonna get the glory in my illness and my recovery. He's answered prayer to bring me through this.

"But I guess maybe He's just showing me He's God, that I really need to trust Him even more than I did, that he is my sustenance. I trust Him on that. I know all this is gonna work out. ... I'm not worried about it. I'm not worried about it."