CLEVELAND -- An unprecedented number of faith healings are taking place in Cleveland-area churches at a faster pace than ever before.

Many Clevelanders say they've been healed as a result of healing miracles, reported WEWS-TV in Cleveland.

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Those claiming to be healed include prominent doctors, media personalities and people from other states. What they have in common is that each of them say they have received some sort of physical transformation through the power of prayer.

The hands-on healing services frequently run nine hours. Often, there are more than 1,000 people attending.

Liz Simmons finally saw one of the healers after more than 20 years of multiple sclerosis.

"So I saw him the following week, and that week I was healed of the MS," Simmons said. "I do not have MS anymore."

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Simmons' story is not unusual. For more than a decade now, a band of healers -- including a priest, nun and a lay couple -- come together to pray for the purpose of restoring sick people back to good health, the television station reported. The healings usually take place in Catholic churches, but people of all faiths are welcome.

Randy Zinn said what happens is amazing.

"I had a ruptured disc in my neck, and I had been scheduled for surgery at the hospital," Zinn said.

He never had his surgery. Zinn said was healed spiritually by Dr. Issam Nemeh, one of the members of the healing team.

"He said, 'Do you believe in God'? I said, 'I do,'" Zinn said. "He said, 'Do you believe that God could heal you'? I said, 'I could save you some time here, I believe in a God that could put man on earth, that allows the birds in the sky and who allows the grass to grow. Yes, I believe that all things are possible.' And he said, 'Well, this won't take very long.'"

In minutes, Zinn said, he was healed.

The healers travel from church to church. No money is ever accepted. No one is ever refused.

The trend is causing a stir among medical doctors. Some dismiss the accounts altogether, some say it's a placebo effect, but others within the medical profession are more open to the idea.

Dr. Scot Remick at the Ireland Cancer Center at University Hospitals in Cleveland is careful not to judge it.

"I've certainly been around long enough in the practice of medicine taking care of cancer patients that in many scenarios, obviously they're infrequent, but you do see miracle cases, miracle outcomes," Remick said.

He said medicine is now re-evaluating alternative healings -- such as the power of prayer -- as never before, and that he personally would never discourage his patients from it.

"Most of my colleagues have been in practice for many, many years and have what they call miracle patients," Remick said. "Things happen for sometimes unexplained reasons, and I am not here to second guess that."

Some doctors report spiritual healings of their own. Dr. Michael Hudec, of Parma, Ohio, once had cancer.

"But something powerful happened. I always heard of laying on of hands and falling in the spirit and I was a naysayer," Hudec said. "You know, in science, as a doctor, you always kind of question stuff like that until you experience it firsthand."

Hudec believes he was cured of testicular cancer by Sister Monica of the healing team. As proof, he points to children he was never supposed to have, and he thanks the nun.

"She doesn't know it. You know, I don't know her personally, but she is a miracle worker," Hudec said.

And another person who benefited by the miracle workers was Jill Mierau, who was dying in the final stages of cancer.

"By the time I came here, my cancer had so progressed, the lungs were infected, I was on oxygen, and you know, the pain was really bad," Mierau said. "I was on an extreme amount of narcotics for pain relief,"

Mierau's doctor said there was nothing more to do. She was given two months to live.

"She said, 'Get your house in order,'" Mierau said. "I planned the funeral, bought the grave, did the whole shabang. By May of last year, I was supposed to be dead."

But after coming to the healers, Mierau weaned herself away from most of her medications. She said her great pain is gone. She no longer needs oxygen, and the sole focus of her attention now is her 10-year-old daughter, Ashley, who gave her a necklace.

"So that represents my daughter, if that means anything," Mierau said. "My daughter says to me, 'Mom, what more do you need? You always tell me you need Jesus. So that's what you need, then.'"

She was helped both at the healing church services and at Nemeh's office. Mierau has come a long way since last year. Now, she wants to bring her out-of-town aunt who has fourth-stage cancer to the services. And Mierau wants others to know that she is still alive.

"I wish I could tell everybody, because it's such a wonderful feeling to still be here to know that my life has meaning again," Mierau said. "I am not done yet. You know, I am not done. I have a lot to do yet. I have a 10-year-old girl that I know just needs me."

Like many others who said they've been healed, Mierau continues to attend the healing services for the purpose of being spiritually supportive of others.