Archive for 13th January 2008

I’m Physically Sick With Fear

Tina was diagnosed with leukemia when she was 29 and we were newlyweds. Two years ago, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. I got home from a business trip to find out that her routine dental x-rays had led to a referral to a dental surgeon because two things might be cancerous. One a shadow, the other white like another tooth. “With your history, just to be sure,” the dentist said, but didn’t offer a “but there are lots of other things that are more likely.”

You Google “jaw cancer” and you hear about oral cancers in general — bad — or osteosarcoma — bad.

She sees the surgeon on Friday.