Leukemia

Relapsing

          It's possible for a cancer patient to relapse and it's most common to happen within the first three years of being cancer free. I have created a fictional short story about a college student who had leukemia and was going in for a monthly check up, but he wasn't expecting what he was about to hear. Research has been added into the story to create a more realistic feeling. 

 

A Recurrence

By: Bridget M.

          Deep breathes. Deep breathes. That’s all I was thinking while walking into Memorial Hospital for my monthly check-up with Dr. Smith, an oncologist. I had been cancer free for almost two years, but for some reason, today felt different. I was diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia right after I graduated high school. I went through treatment, and trust me, chemotherapy is like hell. But it got me through cancer. Although, lately I wasn’t feeling too well. I was tired and I was throwing up a lot, but I just thought that it was still the after effects of cancer. I know that recovery takes a long time, but why am I feeling sicker than before I had cancer?

 

          I walked into the waiting room and saw my mom sitting on one of the chairs checking her watch. “You’re late Louis,” she said angrily. I smiled and sat down next to her. My mom had always accompanied me on monthly visits to make sure I was still doing well. We waited for about ten minutes until a low pitched and scratchy voice called out “Louis Greene?”. It was Dr. Dan Smith. One of the best oncologists in the state of Vermont. I pulled myself out of my chair, but as soon as I stood up I was light headed and immediately fell over. Everyone in the room gasped but I slowly got up and said, “I’m alright,” while my hands rested on my stomach. My mom let me use her as a crutch and we walked through the big doors to room number thirteen with Dr. Smith. I sat down on the patient seat, breathing a little heavy. “Feeling a little weak Lou?” he asked. “I’m not really sure, I… I have been feeling like I’ve been getting weaker and I have been sleeping a lot more because of how tired I get,” I replied. “Well, we will run some tests, and possibly raise your dosage for your medication,” he said. Dr. Smith slyly walked out of the room and I waited for nurses to start each test.

 

          For the testing, they had to take simple blood and bone marrow tests, since leukemia runs through blood and bone marrow. Every time I saw that huge needle going into my arm, I immediately passed out. After going through treatment, your body gets a lot weaker and can sometimes can cause you to become hemophiliac. I tend to lose more blood than I should when even getting a paper cut. I’m always out for a little while, so I usually wake up in my bed at home. But this time I didn’t. I woke up and I was about to be put into a cat scan. Dr. Smith told me that cat scans help oncologists and radiologists see what’s on the inside of the body, and not just seeing the bones. I sat up (which I wasn’t supposed to do) and saw that my mom was crying. I had no idea what was going.

 

          Dr. Smith walked into the cat scan room and pulled a chair right next to me. “This is always a hard thing to tell to patients and to family, but Lou, you’ve had a relapse of cancer. After coming back with your blood results, leukemia is still in your body and it started growing again,” he calmly said to me. I was in shock. No way this was happening. I was hoping that I would just wake up from a bad dream, but no. This is reality. I had cancer, got rid of it, and apparently all hope in beating cancer was just gone.

 

          I honestly didn’t know how I was exactly feeling. I was sad, scared, stressed. But most of all I was mad. Mad that cancer took over my life. Mad that I was given false hope by doctors and my family. Mad that people kept saying it would get better. Cancer did not just take over my body it took over my mind. “This is not possible! I was getting better! This isn’t fair at all, I don’t understand why everything bad has to happen to me. What did I do to deserve this!” I screamed so loudly three other doctors ran into the room to see if everything okay. The entire room was silent. I looked at everyone. My mom, Dr. Smith, and the three other doctors. All of them had a terrified look on their face, as if they had just seen a ghost. Looking at each one of them I realized that it was none of their faults, and not even mine. It was the cancer. The cancer had gotten to me itself. The only thing I have left to do is to beat it once and for all.

 

          You can’t blame things like cancer on other people, and you can’t blame it for ruining your life. Cancer was an obstacle in my life and I overcame it. Even though there’s a possibility that you can relapse, it just creates another challenge in your life. Challenges are just another thing that can make a person stronger, so bring it on again cancer. I’m ready to beat you once and for all.