Cancer Victim's Payback

Synopsis

The sterile white walls of Mount Sinai Medical Center seemed to close in around me as Dr. Hanson's words hung in the air between us. Her voice had taken on that careful, measured tone doctors use when delivering life-altering news. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Sterling, but the biopsy results confirm stage II cancer." My fingers clutched the thin hospital gown, the paper-like material crinkling under my grip. The fluorescent lights overhead buzzed with a persistence that matched the ringing in my ears. "How... how certain are you?" My voice sounded foreign, distant, as though it belonged to someone else. Dr. Hanson's kind eyes softened. She was an elegant woman in her fifties with salt-and-pepper hair pulled into a neat bun. "The pathology is conclusive, Grace. But we've caught it relatively early, which gives us good treatment options." I nodded mechanically, my mind struggling to process the weight of her words. Cancer. The word itself felt like a sentence. "Where's your husband?" Dr. Hanson asked, glancing at the empty chair beside me. "Would you like me to call him?" "He's getting my medical records from our family doctor," I whispered, my throat constricting. "Marcus should be here soon." Marcus. I needed him now more than ever. Five