Metastasis

It was a chilly autumn afternoon. The brisk winds were howling and the brightly colored leaves were swirling throughout the air. Anthony was headed home after a long, stressful day. Life was pretty tough for Anthony. The kids at his school were pretty rough on him. His excellent grades and various academic achievements made him the perfect victim for bullying. His recent acceptance to Harvard just aggravated the problem. His father was extremely proud of him. He was his only companion. His mother left when he was 6. He hated her for what she did, but couldn't help feel that she was missing from his life. Still, his father was the only person he needed in his life

"Move, stupid!” shouted one of his classmates as he was crossing the street.

 "I`m s-s-sorry", he uttered.

“Yeah, you better be, dumbass", said his classmate as he walked away.

 “H-have a nice day!” Anthony said in a croaking voice.

As he was approaching his house, he felt a sense of relief; like drinking water on a hot day. He ran to his house and slammed the door.

“I`m here, dad!”, he said enthusiastically.

“How was school, son?, asked his father.

“It was okay. I didn’t get beat up today.”

“Son, if those kids keep harassing you, just tell me. Please. I`m here to make sure nothing happens to you. If I have to get the authorities involved, then so be it.”

“No, no dad. I`m okay. I can deal with them”, said Anthony.

 “Okay. I trust you. Now, what do you want for dinner?” his father asked him.

“I`m not hungry. Maybe just a peanut butter jelly sandwich?”

 “Sure thing, sport. Let me just go to the cellar to get a new jar of jelly”, said his father.

As his father walked down the old, creaky wooden stairs that led to the cellar, he noticed an envelope on the kitchen table “TO MR. DAVID GARFIELD”, it read. It was from the hospital.

 “Dear Mr. Garfield, we regret to inform you that the results came back positive. We discovered a malignant tumor in your lungs that has started to spread. At this point, we believe that you are showing symptoms of a patient that is experiencing  the 4^th stage of lung cancer. I`m afraid that if you do not receive the required treatment, you may die within the next 24 months……” Anthony froze. His hands were colder than ice. He was dumbfounded.

“You read the letter, didn’t you?”, asked his father as he placed the jar of purple jelly on the kitchen table.

Anthony couldn’t hold back the tears. He ran to his father and hugged him like he never hugged him before.

 “WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME? WHY?!”, Anthony exclaimed. “I didn’t want to scare you, sport.” “WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO? ARE YOU GOING TO DIE?”, asked Anthony in a cracking voice.

 “No. I`m going to start chemotherapy next week. Hopefully the chemotherapy helps. Just, please Anthony, please focus on your education. I`ll be fine.”

 At that moment, his father embraced his son and both started sobbing.

“*sniff*, hand me the bread, sport”, said his father.

“I`m not hungry anymore.”, said Anthony.

“Son you have to eat something.”

 “No. I`m not hungry!” Anthony ran to his room and shut the door.

 “WHY GOD? WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME! I HAVE BEEN NOTHING BUT LOYAL TO YOU! WHY?”

 He yanked his crucifix off the wall and threw it across the room. “WHYYYYYYYY?”, he thought to himself. He stood up and turned on his laptop. “LUNG CANCER TREATMENT/CURES”, he typed on the search bar. He opened a lung cancer society webpage. “According to many experts, there is no known cure for lung cancer. Chemotherapy is the best way to deal with the symptoms produced by lung cancer” “Damn it! There must be a cure! There must be a f****** cure! Aghhhhhhhh!”, he thought to himself. “Relax Anthony. Just relax. Father is going to be all right. Just focus on your education and don’t be pessimistic. Everything will be alrigh…”, just before he could finish his thoughts, he fell into a deep slumber.

            * riiiing* *riiing* As Anthony stood up to pick up the phone, he remembered his father's condition. "Relax, Anthony. It was just a dream.", he thought to himself. He picked up the phone. "

Hello?” asked Anthony.

"Hello, this is Doctor Sanders. Is your father home?"

"Not at the moment. Would you like to leave a message?", asked Anthony.

"Yes. May you tell your father that his chemotherapy appointment will be next week?"

 Anthony felt like he was kicked in the stomach. Then and there he knew it was not a dream. His father is dying.

 "S-sure thing, doc", said Anthony shakily.

He hung up, trembling with fear. “Lung cancer. Lung cancer.” The words kept ringing in his ear like a defective morning alarm.  “There is no known cure. Nothing. Nothing at all.” “If no one can help my father, then I will try to do everything in my power to try to help him”, he thought to himself. “ I have always been interested in the medical field. Oncology is a very fascinating subject. Perhaps I can expand my knowledge of everything cancer related. I will not stop until something is done to help my father.’

            Days became weeks. Weeks became months. Months became years. Anthony’s father’s health was slowly decreasing. His father became frail and lighter. He had no hair on his head because of the amount of chemotherapy sessions he had to go through. The doctor who had called Anthony to say that his father only had 24 months to live was wrong. 5 years later, his father was still living; weak, depilated, and frail, but living. Anthony was now 23 years old and entering medical school in another state.

“I`m so proud of you, so-*cough* *wheeze*.” His father was no longer able to speak in complete sentences.   

“Here dad”, said Anthony as he handed him his Methotrexate pills.