Dr. Patel doesn’t rush. He looks at Pops like he respects him.
“It’s aggressive,” he says. “And at this stage, the options become limited.”
Limited.
I clench my hands in my lap hard enough that my nails bite into my palms.
“What about surgery?” Cameron blurts, voice tight. “Can’t you take it out again?”
Dr. Patel’s gaze shifts to him, steady and kind. “We consulted neurosurgery. Given where the tumors are located and the extent of involvement, surgery would pose more risk than benefit. There is a high likelihood of significant complications—loss of function, worsening symptoms, even…a reduced quality of life.”
Cameron’s face goes pale while Pops sits perfectly still.
I feel my body trying to float away from itself, like my mind is stepping backward to avoid being hit.
“What about treatment?” I ask, voice too controlled. “Chemo? Radiation? Trials?”
Dr. Patel nods slowly. “We can discuss palliative radiation—treatments meant to reduce symptoms and potentially slowprogression. But I want to be honest about what we’re looking at.”
My pulse thunders.
“The likelihood of a meaningful response at this stage is minimal,” he says. “It may offer some symptom relief for a short period, but it is unlikely to change the overall outcome.”
There it is.
The part where he says the thing without saying the thing.
Pops’s voice comes out calm. “And the overall outcome is…?”
Dr. Patel takes another breath.
“I’m very sorry,” he says. “This disease is terminal.”
The air leaves the room.
I feel it physically, like someone opened a door and sucked all the oxygen out.
Cameron’s knee stops bouncing.
Pops doesn’t flinch.
I do.
Something in my chest cracks, just a hairline fracture, but I feel it.
“How long?” Cameron asks, voice hoarse.
Dr. Patel’s eyes soften. “It varies,” he says. “Weeks to months. Occasionally longer. But given the rate of progression and the symptoms you’ve described….I would prepare for months rather than years.”
Months.
My stomach lurches.
Months isn’t time. It’s a ticking time bomb, waiting and ready to rip the thing I love most in this world away from me.
Pops nods slowly, like he’s filing it away.
“Okay,” Pops says quietly.
