Love and Weakness (Third Part of "Love In The Spotlight") MJ Fantasy

Chapter 22: Another Doctor

Zoe's POV

The next day- Santa Barbara Co. Hospital

"Right this way..." A nurse directed Michael and I, pointing us to a small check up room. "Dr. Graves will be with you shortly..."

"Great, another doctor..." Michael mumbled under his breath.

I giggled quietly as we stepped into the room. Over the years, Michael and I have grown to resent doctors, because we're both so stubborn and don't like to be told what to do. I hopped up onto the examination bed and Michael sat in a chair against the wall. The nurse quickly took my vitals before leaving and telling us to wait for the doctor.

A few minutes later the door opened and a young, lean man stepped into the room with a grin. "Hello, how are you folks today?" He greeted us, shaking both of our hands. "I'm Dr. Graves, and I will be taking care of you today."

"Nice to meet you, Doctor. I'm Zoe and this is my husband Michael."

"Nice to meet you both as well. Now..." He pulled up his rolly stool and sat down in front of me. Of course, he had a clipboard and pen in hand. I'm really starting to hate clipboards. "To your understanding, what brings you here today?"

"Well," I cleared my throat. "The past few days I've been vomiting and losing my appetite, and yesterday I became really fatigued out of no where. We thought I could be pregnant so we went to our OBGYN but the test was negative. I showed him this patch of irritated skin on my chest and he recommended for me to come here and get a mammogram."

He nodded, scribbling away on his stupid clipboard. "Do you mind if I inspect this patch you were speaking of?"

I nodded, and felt extreme déjà vu as I pulled my shirt down and allowed him to poke around my chest area.

He sat back down on his stool. "I want to ask you a few questions about your background, is that okay?"

"Sure."

"Alright. Let's start with your ethnicity..."

"Dominican and Liberian."

"Which parent is Liberian?" He asked.

"My mother." I responded.

"Do you know if there is a history of breast cancer on her side?"

"Yes... Her grandmother and her aunt both passed away from breast cancer."

He nodded and wrote something down. "How old were they, do you recall?"

I shrugged. "I'm not sure, but they were both older women..."

"Hmmm..." He mumbled as he continued to write. "Well, the patch of skin you showed me matches the description of what we call the 'orange peel' effect, which is a warning sign of breast cancer. Given your family background, and the fact that you are a woman of color, I think you may be at risk. We won't know for sure until we run some tests."

I took a shaky breath and looked over at Michael, who offered a supportive smile. I could tell he was a nervous wreck though.

"But first..." Dr. Graves began, standing from his seat and walking to a prep station in the room. "I would like to feel for any sort of lumps or disfiguration. Is that alright?"

"Yes."

"Okay, I'll step out of the room briefly. I need you to remove your top and any undergarments. Here is a gown to cover yourself."

I nodded and he smiled before leaving the room. My hands shook as I pulled my shirt above my head and sat it next to me. Michael stood up and wrapped the hospital gown around me as I unclasped my bra and slid it off. We didn't say anything, because I'm sure both of us were speechless. These doctors keep talking about risks and possibilities, but they're not giving us direct answers. Michael held my face and gave me a soft peck on the lips. I managed a small smile and kissed him again as Dr. Graves re entered the room.

"Alright, all set?" He asked, closing the door behind him.

"All set." I replied.

"Great." He pulled on a set of gloves. "Now, can you tell me if you've noticed any kind of lumps on your own?" He questioned as he lifted the front of the gown to observe.

I shook my head. "No, I haven't."

"Alright, what I'm going to do is just feel the breast tissue, and see if I notice any disfiguration." He informed me. He began to poke and prod at my breasts, which made me extremely uncomfortable. "Are you experiencing any pain?"

"Umm a little, on the right."

He moved his hands to my right breast and continued his examination. I can't help but feel like I'm being fondled right now.

"Right here..." He said, squeezing an area to point it out to me. "I feel a little bit of disfiguration... This is also the same side that the 'orange peel' effect is occurring..." He noted, removing his hands and waking back to his clipboard.

"So what does that mean?" Michael asked.

Dr. Graves pulled off his gloves and threw them away before facing us. "Because she is younger, the breast tissue is very dense, so it is harder to notice the formation of lumps. This would explain why you never felt anything. Our next step is going to be the mammogram, so we can know for sure what we're dealing with here."

I took a deep breath and looked at the ground. "Oh God..." I muttered.

"Mrs. Jackson, if you'll follow me down the hall, we're already set up for you."

"Um, can my husband come?" I asked.

"No, I'm sorry. We can only allow patients into the testing area. He'll have to wait here. We won't take long though."

My heart beat grew rapid as I looked over at Michael. "Can he at least stand outside?"

Michael stood up gave me a tight hug. "It's okay, I'll be right here. I'm not going anywhere." He assured me.

I blinked away tears as I stood up and followed Dr. Graves to the door. Before exiting the room I turned back to Michael. "I love you."

"I love you, baby. I'll be right here."

Michael's POV

I tried to hide my frustration as Zoe and I sat waiting for the doctor again. After she finished the mammogram, they checked her into a hospital room, but they have yet to tell us why. If they're admitting her to the hospital, something is obviously wrong. Why won't they tell us instead of making us wait around and worry half to death? I'm trying to have faith that Zoe will be okay, but it's hard under these circumstances. This whole thing is starting to piss me off.

Dr. Graves made yet another grand entrance, with several x-ray images in his hand. "I apologize for the wait... We have just finished assessing the imaging from your mammogram."

He handed one of them to Zoe and I stood to look at it as well. Within her right breast, there's a small circular figure. I scrunched my eyebrows as I observed it.

"This..." He pointed to the figure. "Is a cancerous tumor."

"No!" Zoe exclaimed, slapping her hand over her mouth. My heart sunk into my stomach and I stared at him in utter shock. Zoe broke down into tears, covering her face with her hands. I sat on the hospital bed next to her and held her in my arms.

Dr. Graves looked down at the ground. "I'm very sorry."

"You can remove it, right?" I asked, fighting my own urge to cry as Zoe sobbed against me.

He sighed. "The tumor is much more progressed than we thought. It's actually already stage 3, which means it's beginning to spread beyond the breast tissue. We will perform surgery to remove it but we're also looking at chemotherapy as well as radiation therapy..."

I felt massive pressure against my chest, as his words sunk in. "It'll make her better, won't it?" I asked as tears trickled down my cheeks.

"We'll do everything we can to make her better, sir. I can assure you of that."