“I’m afraid the cancer has recurred he said to her nonchalantly, I’ll be calling in our oncologist for an opinion” as he conveyed to her the results of her pleural fluid analysis.
Life had come a long way since the diagnosis of breast cancer 5 yrs. back, at the young age of 30yrs., a particularly aggressive form of cancer. Disfiguring surgery to remove her left breast, radiotherapy and chemotherapy over the next year had led to ‘complete remission’ as her oncologist had assured her. 2 handsome boys in middle school, loving husband, steady job at a multinational bank, a mortgage on a beautiful house, it was just a month ago that she had received an award for being the best performing employee of the year.
As he conveyed the news of this confirmation to her, she broke down on his white coat, her tears wetting his pockets: -“who’ll take care of my boys?”, “How will my husband and children manage their lives without me”, “How much time do I have left doctor”, a frenzy of thoughts trying to squeeze the rest of her life into a minute,--She was wailing , her tears pouring endlessly like a waterfall swollen with the monsoon rains, he could see her face swell with the rubor of her emotions.
In that moment of utmost grief, she turned towards the window and saw her two cherubs walking towards the hospital door, school bags on their shoulders, spring in step, excited to be able to see their mom after a long day at school.
Instantly, her face turned ashen, -- grabbing a box of tissues, she wiped off all her tears, washed her face at the sink, plucked out her makeup box from her handbag and started applying her make-up and lipstick, quickly brushing her hair to look as normal and happy as she could.
As her boys entered her room, she hugged and kissed them and said:–“I’m perfectly fine, the doctor here says so too”, --“time to go shopping for your coming birthday” she said to her younger one, with a laugh. The kids were overjoyed to hear that. Soon, the room was filled with mirth, hysterical laughter, and the excitement of a celebration to come, as the dark cloud of cancer and impending death seemed to recede from the room, albeit for a moment.
As he left the room, he caressed the marks of her tears, still wet, on his white coat and thought to himself, -- there can only be one supreme love, that of a mother.
