Against the odds

Chapter 7

29 November 2014

     Three weeks had flown by since the day we walked into the Radiology department. The digitally calming flowers on the wall had lost its excitement on me, as it faded in with the dull white walls. All I could think of, was having to endure three more weeks of this. Even if we did clamber across the finish line by the end of three, we still weren't in the clear, there was still the surgery, and hopefully after then remission. The weather outside was fair, the sun wasn't too bright, nor was there signs of rain clouds. But instead of lounging on the beach, I found myself in the radiology waiting room, ankles crossed, restlessly flipping through some ostentatious fashion magazine that glorified unhealthy diets, and corpse-like bodies. The seats in the room were quite full for a Saturday, each one of them sat there with a companion to chat with. For a while I tried to play a game wherein I would distinguish which one of them was the ill-fated one, but it was surprisingly difficult. Either they would both look a little antsy, or they were both calm, it then led me to wonder whether other people could tell which one of us was the cancer patient, it was always me with the permanent crease etched upon my forehead, while Cody remained expressionless as ever. Hitting the halfway mark of the radiation treatment process meant that it was due time for an update on Cody's status. Examining the fading and chipped off nail polish on my fingers that were laced between Cody's, I sulked at the realization that I had lost touch with maintaining my regular manicures, something that I had used to pride myself on. I was in the midst of mentally reminding myself to pen down an appointment at the salon, because I deserved to treat myself, when Dr. Collins popped his head out of his office to personally invite us in. Cody bolted up immediately tugging me up as well, his hand still clutched on to mine.

We took our seats in the familiar oversized desk chairs, Dr. Collins soon following suit, with a pale yellow file held in his hand. Reading the small, black letterings in the center, it read 'Patient: Mr. Cody Runnels'.

"Good morning guys." He flashed a wide smile. "Lets get right down to it shall we?" He began the proceeding, thumbing through the documents. Dr. Collin's face bore an extremely, pleasing, friendly aura, making it easier for us to feel less agitated, relative to the presence of most other doctors, with the exception of Dr. Kahn of course.

"So there are signs that the radiation is doing its job, there is evidence that the cancer cells have been destroyed. But –" he paused. I bit my lower lip in frustration, all I could think of was 'what now?' "Your cancer cells have upped the rate at which they grow, which is partially undoing some of the work of radiation."

"So what does that mean?" I inquired.

"This sort of activity presents most of the time in cancer patients. What is happening is that even though cancer cells are being destroyed, new cancer cells are growing, and it is metastasizing, so when we look at an overview of Cody's body, it would appear that his level of cancer cells have actually increased?" I nodded with understanding. "Instead of conducting the radiation today, we will instead send Cody back to dosimetry and recalculate higher level of radiation dose. Unfortunately we might have to extend treatments by one more week, but that depends all on the sixth week evaluation. If the higher radiation do work out, then of course the extra week won't be necessary." He smiled a smile that was filled with genuine hope.

Under normal circumstances I would have been trounced by worry, but recalling Dr. Collins explanation of how we always had the back up option of chemotherapy kept me at bay. The chemotherapy vaguely resembled a safety net under us, knowing that even if radiation failed it wasn't the end of the world.

"Moving on," he cleared his throat, as he closed up the file, removed his reading spectacles and lifted up his face to focus on us. "Are your symptoms under control, or do you still face any difficulties?"