find it hard to believe. Honestly, you’ve been the picture of health all your life.”
“Dr. Thomas said that this kind of cancer mostly hits teenagers.”
“I still think we should get a second opinion. Neil thinks so too.”
“If … If it’s true,” Leah said hesitantly, “then I want to stay in this hospital.”
“Whatever for?”
“I know the nurses. I made some friends.”
Her mother sighed and rubbed her temples. “We’ll have to talk about it tomorrow. I’m too tired to think straight right now. But I will tell you one thing. If this Dr. Thomas doesn’t impressme, you’ll be out of here in the blink of an eye.”
“I’m quite sure of my diagnosis, Mrs. Dutton.”
Leah heard Dr. Thomas, but she kept her gaze on her mother. They were seated in his office, and her mother was regarding him warily.
“It’s simply hard for me to believe, that’s all,” her mother said. “I mean,
cancer
.”
Dr. Thomas picked up a stack of large gray envelopes. “Let me show you and Leah something.”
He stood, turned and flipped a switch, and a light board attached to his wall glowed with fluorescent light. He extracted a piece of X-ray film from each envelope and snapped each one to the board. “Come closer.”
Leah moved forward with her mother and saw a series of grayish white bones, from a skull all the way to bones in the feet. “Is that me?” she asked, fascinated.
“Yes. This is your skeleton, top to bottom, from your bone scan.”
Leah was impressed and a bit freaked out. It was strange seeing herself without skin.
“So where’s the problem?” her mother asked.
“Here,” Dr. Thomas said, drawing a circle around Leah’s right kneecap with a marking pen. “And here.” He drew another circle around her left forefinger.
Leah squinted and saw that both areas looked dark, like small holes.
“Remember,” the doctor said, “bones are dense and show up white on X-ray film. Dark space is the absence of bone.”
“So?” Leah’s mother asked.
“These dark areas indicate that the bone has been eaten away. This is very typical of bone cancer.”
“But a few X rays can’t tell the whole story,” her mother argued.
“True, but based on these, I did the biopsy.”
“And what did that say?”
“Here’s the pathologist’s report.” He picked up a file and handed it to Leah’s mother. “It’s inconclusive, unfortunately. But based on years of treating this disease, I think Leah has osteogenic sarcoma.”
As he spoke, Leah began to feel icy cold.
“You
think
?” her mother retorted. “This is just your opinion?”
Dr. Thomas sighed. “My opinion counts, Mrs. Dutton. I’m a specialist who’s treated many cases of this disease.”
“All right, all right. If this is true, how do you treat it?”
Leah knew the answer already.
Dr. Thomas didn’t answer immediately. Instead he laced his fingers together and leaned forward. “Long-term treatment, chemotherapy.”
“Long-term? What about the short term?”
“Sometimes drastic measures are needed to preserve a person’s life.”
Leah felt a tingling sensation all through her body. He was leading up to something horrific. She could sense it. “Like what?” she asked, her heart pounding.
“Like removal of the appendage with the tumors.”
“Y-You mean, removing the tumors,” she clarified.
“No. I mean amputating your leg and finger.”
“No way!” Her mother exploded off her chair. “Leah’s a young woman with her whole life ahead of her. You cannot cut off her leg! I won’t let you.”
Dr. Thomas shook his head sadly. “Mrs. Dutton, I don’t like telling you this either, but this
is
the only way to maximize her recovery. After the amputations, she’ll undergo chemo. Once she goes into remission, we’ll monitor her closely. The cure rate—”
Leah stopped listening. She was numb. She tried to imagine her leg gone, her finger missing, a tube in her chest, needles and medicine. She began to
“Dr. Thomas said that this kind of cancer mostly hits teenagers.”
“I still think we should get a second opinion. Neil thinks so too.”
“If … If it’s true,” Leah said hesitantly, “then I want to stay in this hospital.”
“Whatever for?”
“I know the nurses. I made some friends.”
Her mother sighed and rubbed her temples. “We’ll have to talk about it tomorrow. I’m too tired to think straight right now. But I will tell you one thing. If this Dr. Thomas doesn’t impressme, you’ll be out of here in the blink of an eye.”
“I’m quite sure of my diagnosis, Mrs. Dutton.”
Leah heard Dr. Thomas, but she kept her gaze on her mother. They were seated in his office, and her mother was regarding him warily.
“It’s simply hard for me to believe, that’s all,” her mother said. “I mean,
cancer
.”
Dr. Thomas picked up a stack of large gray envelopes. “Let me show you and Leah something.”
He stood, turned and flipped a switch, and a light board attached to his wall glowed with fluorescent light. He extracted a piece of X-ray film from each envelope and snapped each one to the board. “Come closer.”
Leah moved forward with her mother and saw a series of grayish white bones, from a skull all the way to bones in the feet. “Is that me?” she asked, fascinated.
“Yes. This is your skeleton, top to bottom, from your bone scan.”
Leah was impressed and a bit freaked out. It was strange seeing herself without skin.
“So where’s the problem?” her mother asked.
“Here,” Dr. Thomas said, drawing a circle around Leah’s right kneecap with a marking pen. “And here.” He drew another circle around her left forefinger.
Leah squinted and saw that both areas looked dark, like small holes.
“Remember,” the doctor said, “bones are dense and show up white on X-ray film. Dark space is the absence of bone.”
“So?” Leah’s mother asked.
“These dark areas indicate that the bone has been eaten away. This is very typical of bone cancer.”
“But a few X rays can’t tell the whole story,” her mother argued.
“True, but based on these, I did the biopsy.”
“And what did that say?”
“Here’s the pathologist’s report.” He picked up a file and handed it to Leah’s mother. “It’s inconclusive, unfortunately. But based on years of treating this disease, I think Leah has osteogenic sarcoma.”
As he spoke, Leah began to feel icy cold.
“You
think
?” her mother retorted. “This is just your opinion?”
Dr. Thomas sighed. “My opinion counts, Mrs. Dutton. I’m a specialist who’s treated many cases of this disease.”
“All right, all right. If this is true, how do you treat it?”
Leah knew the answer already.
Dr. Thomas didn’t answer immediately. Instead he laced his fingers together and leaned forward. “Long-term treatment, chemotherapy.”
“Long-term? What about the short term?”
“Sometimes drastic measures are needed to preserve a person’s life.”
Leah felt a tingling sensation all through her body. He was leading up to something horrific. She could sense it. “Like what?” she asked, her heart pounding.
“Like removal of the appendage with the tumors.”
“Y-You mean, removing the tumors,” she clarified.
“No. I mean amputating your leg and finger.”
“No way!” Her mother exploded off her chair. “Leah’s a young woman with her whole life ahead of her. You cannot cut off her leg! I won’t let you.”
Dr. Thomas shook his head sadly. “Mrs. Dutton, I don’t like telling you this either, but this
is
the only way to maximize her recovery. After the amputations, she’ll undergo chemo. Once she goes into remission, we’ll monitor her closely. The cure rate—”
Leah stopped listening. She was numb. She tried to imagine her leg gone, her finger missing, a tube in her chest, needles and medicine. She began to
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