Must Read: Cancer

Episode 7 years ago

Must Read: Cancer

Two days later, Mama was discharged, and we agreed to go to LASUTH on the next tuesday cause her appointment was for tuesdays.


Ife on the other hand went for her check up and she was told she getting close to being totally healed, she couldn’t hide her joy, so she placed a call to me
Ife: tee dear
Me: sweetheart
Ife: how have you been
Me: well have been in hospital since I arrived lagos
Ife: are u sick? But I called you yesterday and u dint mention that
Me: actually, am not sick, but my mum is so partially I am
Ife: heya, how is she, any improvement?
Me: well, I can say for now until we see the doc on tuesday
Ife: I called to give u a goodnews before ni ooo, but this one that you are sick now
Me: what’s the goodnews, are our results out?
Ife: mtcheeewww, result ko,
Me: oya what is it
Ife: well the doctor just gave me a clean bill today
Me: clean bill? What does that means
Ife: well, the doctor says am almost healed totally and I may not need those drugs again
Me: really, that’s awesome, I so happy for you, that means we can start dating now
Ife: mtcheeewwww, can u imagine your reasoning, so all ur own is dating
Me: abi now
Ife: well just take care of your mum and send my regards to her
Me: ok, I will tell her that her daughter inlaw sends her regards
Ife: na u sabi, bye
I was so happy with the news ife gave me and I went on my knees praying to God using her as a point of contact for mama.

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Tuesday came and we where at Lasuth by 9am, it was a long wait so at about 12 noon it was our turn to see the doctor, while waiting, I couldn’t help but wonder at the number of beautiful ladies all waiting to see the doc. In my mind I was like *so na all dis babes get cancer sef, chai, and some sharp guys go still dey sU-Ck dos fresh looking b0s0m oo*
We got in, the doctor checked her file, he then ask for the result of the x-ray, then I try to cut in and said, sir…..

I try to cut in and said sir………………………………………

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Sir, I am son, please sir, if you don’t mind I will like to know exactly what we are dealing with, our options and chances.
Doc: oh that’s good, do you leave with her?
Me: yes sir
Doc: I believe you are a little more enlighten than her so why did you watch her situation till its this bad?
Me: sir have been in school, just came back last week
Doc: ooh all right then. Your mum has an Invasive Cancer, from the look of things it is a Grade 3 invasive Cancer
Me: what’s Grade 3 sir
Doc: its a kind of cancer in which the cells are fast growing and very aggressive
Me: ok sir, so what do we do?
Doc: well, she was asked to do a Xray the last time, but she still has to do a Mammogram, then she will be asked to provide herself for an UltraSound scan, depending on the situation of the b0s0m and if need be she might have a MRI scan
Me: jesus, but what are her chances
Doc: I can really say until the result of all the tests and scans carried out her out
Me: sir, what’s the worst case scenario
Doc: mastectomy
Me: sir?
Doc: *smiles* removal of affected b0s0m
Me: hmmmmm, other options nko?
Doc: surgery is one options, chemotherapy is a continuous process, even after surgery, then there is Radiotherapy in addition to the surgery


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At this point I was a little confuse, even now that am typing this story, am still confuse, cos all the doctor said still haven’t made sense to me after about 7 years.
Me: doc please what is the cause of this disease
Doc: my friend, the truth is we can only speculate, no one knows for sure what the cause is. But heredity, environment, foods all play a significant part
Me: but sir, I heard this cancer is only for people 50yrs and above
Doc: it is predominant in people of that age bracket but it could occur in people much younger than that.


Me: sir can a lady of 15yrs have b0s0m cancer
Doc: its possible, but it could just be a lump and not cancer
Me: hanhan is lump and cancer different
Doc: yes the are very different, a lump is just a symptoms of cancer, it not necessarily cancer.



Almost all women develop lumps, and not all lump leads to cancer, some are there during there menstrual period, some during pregnancy and so on.
Me: it is well, thank you so much sir, but one last question
Doc: ok
Me: if a teenager has a case of repeated lumps having operated the first then anoda showed, then another, can we conclude and say she has cancer?
Doc: she is quiet young, and we can’t say she has cancer, cos the lumps have to develop and a lot of examination and test had to be carried out before we can come to that conclusion.


Me: thanks so much sir
Doc: you are welcome
All this while I was conversing with the doctor, the doctor took me to a inner room in his office, so mama dint know what our conversation was about.


We came back outside and I asked the doctor what’s next for us to do. He told me to go do the xray and then the mammogram and bring the result on the next tuesday.


He warned that we should be quick about it cos the cancer is destroying most of her cells and its spreading very fast. I promised him we would have done all of it by next tuesday, he wrote some drugs after doing a routine check on her and he told me the drugs is sold for 5k, for my mind I was like *hanhan, shey after this drug we no go do mammogrammer abi na programmer again*
We left the doctors room and straight to the pharmacy…