Excerpt:"...I had been to that office many times for preventative checkups. But never had I shivered as I did while waiting uneasily in that cold, stark examining room once my blood pressure and temperature were taken. Fear-induced goose bumps aside, it didn't help that I was draped in a thin paisley hospital gown with the opening in the front. After an eternity, the doctor entered the room. The ensuing clinical examination confirmed, much to my dismay, the presence of the lump. I was secretly hoping, but not really believing, that the lump was only imagined. As I expected from the concerned look on his face, the doctor scheduled a mammogram for as early a date as possible. Due to crowded calendars, the earliest appointment he could get was a week away. Knowing that mammograms are generally the first step in diagnosing the dreaded breast cancer, I tried, rather unsuccessfully, to push away the fear that was creeping into my heart. I put on a brave front. After all, unlike some stories I had heard, this doctor took seriously the presence of this lump and didn't slough it off as not important or not big enough. I respected him greatly for that, and didn't think he deserved to see my tears. In a daze, I went back to work again, waiting for the mammogram date to approach. While this period of waiting was only seven days, it seemed to stretch to infinity..." |
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