All Clear

Fuck Cancer

Bruce sat nervously in the waiting room of his Doctor's office. After 7 weeks of chemotherapy and radiation, today was the day he was going to be told if the treatment had done it's job. He had a million things going through his mind. Usually a positive person, he couldn't help but think what would happen if it wasn't gone. What was he going to do? He didn't know if he had it in him to go through more treatment. Bruce sighed as he sat back in his chair. He looked around and saw that he wasn't the only one suffering. There was a young man that looked like he was Austin's age who was clearly suffering, possibly in his last stages. He was wheelchair bound, had a mask covering his mouth for protection against viruses, was rail thin, and all of his hair was gone. Bruce looked away, his eyes watering at how unfair the world was.

"Mr. Dickinson", Bruce looked up and saw his nurse, Niki with his chart in her hands. As always, she had a beautiful smile on her face. Bruce stood up and followed her into one of the back rooms. "Is Paddy not with you this time?" she asked as she grabbed a blood pressure cuff from one of the drawers. Paddy had always accompanied Bruce to all of his appointments. She had been there through the worst of it. When Bruce had tried to throw in the towel because he couldn't take the pain anymore, Paddy had held him, encouraged him to keep on fighting. She had held him through the night when he couldn't sleep and allowed him to cry himself to sleep curled up on her lap. Bruce could never repay her for everything she had done. He smiled at Niki and shook his head, "Not this time. I bought her and Kia a 2 week trip to Paris. She didn't want to go because she wanted to be here for this appointment, but I convinced her to go. Both of them need the time away. I promised her I would call her with whatever news I get." After doing his vitals, Niki stepped out to let Bruce's Doctor know he was ready to be seen. As soon as she closed the door, Bruce let out a breath of air. He had been attracted to Niki since he first met her. He knew nothing would come of it, he would never cheat on Paddy. But he couldn't help himself. After a few minutes to himself, he heard a knock on the door, it opened up and Dr. Norris walked in with a smile on his face.

"Bruce" he smiled as they shook hands, "How are you mate?"
Bruce let out a laugh as he sat back down, "I was hoping you would tell me." Dr. Norris let out a chuckle and opened up Bruce's chart. "Well, you haven't put on much weight, but it's not too concerning. I'm sure once you're able to you will put it back on. As far as the cancer..." he flipped the page in Bruce's chart and read silently to himself. Bruce couldn't take the silence, it was deafening. He was rocking back and forth in his chair, waiting for the Doctor to tell him what the results were. Dr. Norris noticed how nervous Bruce was, he closed his chart and looked at Bruce, giving him a smile, "Congratulations Mr. Dickinson, you are cancer free. The treatment has worked. There are no signs of any cancerous cells in your throat or your head. There doesn't seem to be any lasting damage to your vocal chords. You are clear." The news hit Bruce like a ton of bricks. He wasn't sure if he had heard right, "Doc....are...are...you sure? I...I don't have cancer anymore?" Dr. Norris smiled at Bruce and showed him his lab results. It all looked like Chinese to Bruce, but the Doctor explained what they were looking for as far as cancerous cells numbers go and what Bruce's current count was. Bruce felt tears coming down his cheeks. He wasn't one to cry, but fuck...he was cancer free! He had beat it. He stood up and wrapped his arms around Dr. Norris. "Thank you Doc! Thank you for saving my life." he pulled away from him and gave him a wide grin, without thinking, Bruce kissed his Doctor on the cheek. "Thank you!" he cried. Dr. Norris laughed as he hugged Bruce back, "It wasn't just me Bruce. You are one of the strongest patients I have known. You wouldn't take defeat and that has helped your fight." Bruce laughed, he felt like running down the hall, yelling out loud that he was cancer free. He stepped out and saw Niki. Giving her a goofy smile, he gave her a thumbs up and mouthed "I'm going to live" as she stepped into another room. She gave him a huge smile and winked at him. "I knew you would." she said before she stepped into the room.