Tough

Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

As Eddie predicted, as soon as the news left the doctor's lips, Jamie started to shake. His face turned completely white and his breath came in small gasps. "Doctor, can I have a minute with my husband please?" Eddie asked taking the hit on the chin.

"Of course I'll come back in a few minutes to talk." The doctor left the two alone and shut the door.

Eddie turn in bed and took Jamie's hands, "Jamie. Jamie look at me."

He was struggling for breath. He picked his head up and looked in her face. "Eddie..."

"Jamie, listen to me. It's going to be all right. Everything is going to be all right." She slid off the bed ignoring the pain in her arm and wrapped him in her embrace. "I am going to fight this thing, Jamie. No matter how hard the battle I'm going to fight to stay with you and our kids." She kissed his head over and over again stroking his hair like she did for little Joey. "But I'm going to need you to help me, okay? I can't do it alone. I need you."

Jamie took a deep breath, Eddie did need him. He couldn't fall apart and let her deal with this alone. He looked up at her and nodded, "Partners?"

Eddie smiled, "Partners."

She pushed back onto the bed, "Oh ow..."

"Let me help you into bed. I'm sorry I lost it on you." Jamie was embarrassed by his reaction. That was why she'd kept it from him, she knew how he'd react. She was the one that was facing this awful illness. He might have to watch her go through the treatments and the pain, but she was going to suffer through it. He had no frame of reference for that.

"It's okay," Eddie replied. "I have no idea what it's like to watch someone go through cancer. I know how Josefina looked at the funeral, and I remember how Maria said she was almost happy that she was in peace. You watched your mom, and I know it's scary baby."

"Are you all right?" Jamie asked getting control over his emotions for the time being.

"I'm scared, but we don't know what we are dealing with yet. It might not be that bad. Why don't you go and let the doctor know he can come back when he's done with his rounds."

Jamie stepped into the hallway and spoke to Eddie's nurse. They watched a little TV, holding onto one another's hands. A half hour later Dr. Abrams returned and once again sat down facing the couple.

"Mrs. Reagan," he began but Eddie cut him off.

"Please call us Eddie and Jamie. If you are going to be poking around my breast you should at least use my first name."

Dr. Abrams smiled, "It's great you have such a positive attitude. That will have a lot to do with how you respond to the treatment. You have a Stage 3C breast cancer. The tumor is large, and from the samples we took during the biopsy show it's invaded at least the lymph nodes under your arm. When we operate to remove the tumor and those affected lymph nodes, we'll explore the area and see if the nodes near the breastbone have also been affected."

"Stage 3C that's bad isn't it?" Jamie asked.

"It's an advanced cancer but it is still curable. So far there's no evidence of the cancer invading the bones or other organs. I won't lie to you Eddie, it's not going to be easy but you are young and strong, I think with the right treatment plan we can beat this."

Eddie moved her hand to cover her affected breast, "Am I going to lose my breast?"

"My recommendation is that we remove the entire breast and the surrounding lymph nodes. That's the surest way to be sure we get it all. We'll use chemo and radiation therapy to kill the remaining cells and help prevent recurrence. There are other options, we can try to save the breast but the risks of recurrence are much greater."