Untill My Last Breath ✅

Chapter Thirty Six

When Amal recovered from the anesthesia six hours after the surgery, everyone was present: from her family to Kamal's family and their friends.

The surgery could have perhaps been documented as successful but for the fact that the neurosurgeons did not excised all the tumor in Amal's brain. Some of the tumor was occupying the part of her brain that is the respiratory center and removing the tumor would pose a bigger threat to her respiratory system and that would do much harm than benefit. The surgeons had to make the call of removing just as much tumor as necessary, leaving part of it in situ.

The excised tumor was taken to histopathology for analysis, in hope for a specific target treatment.
When the results from histopathology came back, Dr Salma went to deliver the news: the part of the job she despised.

Dr Salma had to clear the room first, allowing only Umma, Mami and Kamal to stay.

"How are you feeling dear?" She asked Amal.

Amal smiled "lighter, now that the baby isn't inside me"

Dr Salma laughed slightly "did you see her?"

"Yes Aunty, I did. The nurse brought her. She so beautiful isn't she Aunty"

"Of course she is" Dr Salma admitted "...but again her mother is a beauty"

Amal blushed a little. Dr Salma looked where Kamal was sitting, he was trying so hard to act nonchalant of the current conversation.
Umma and Mami exchanged smiles.

"We've got your results from histopathology" Dr Salma announced and the room turned ice. Kamal stood from the chair he sat and went to sit beside his wife on the bed. He didn't cared Umma and Mami in the room, Amal needed him besides her and he wasn't going to let her be on her own.

She forced a smile when he sat on the bed. He took her hand in his, Kamal could feel her little hand trembling in his.

"It's going to be fine" he mumbled to her and Amal nodded as she squeezed his hand, again she forced another smile.

Dr Salma carried on,
"Just as we anticipated, the tumor is of the aggressive type ...but now we know the specific type we are dealing with and that gives us the advantage for targeted therapy"

"Targeted therapy? What exactly is that?" Kamal asked.

"We are going to target the cancer cells with chemotherapy specific to their type and..."

"Chemotherapy?" Amal worry was clear, she hated chemotherapy.

"Yes, Amal. Chemotherapy" Dr Salma said "but the good news is, this chemotherapy is different from the ones you've had so far. It's more of targeted drugs per say and the side effects are minimal because unlike the previous chemotherapy you've had before which does collateral damage by destroying rapid growing cells, cancer or not, this targets only the specific cancer cells"

"Oh!" Amal exclaimed, she looked at Kamal who in turn smiled at her,

"That's good news love" he said and Amal nodded in agreement.

"What then after the chemotherapy?" Umma asked.

"We will then re evaluate, we hope the tumor shrinks and regresses but if not..." Dr Salma turned and she addressed the last part to Amal "you'll need another surgery"

"Another Surgery?" Kamal interjected "I thought the neurosurgeons took out what they could"

"Yes they did" Dr Salma agreed "but after the chemotherapy if the remaining tumor do no regress totally, it might shrink and then the neurosurgeons might have a better chance of removing the remaining tumor for good"