Diagnosis
A/N: I wanted to let you know that the bit about the steroid beginning dose last chapter was something that I made up and unlike everything else related to the cancer, I have not done my research about the realistic proscribed amount. I hope that that doesn't bother you lot. Remember that a month from now, he'll only have to take three steroidal tablets a day. Which isn't that bad
Since I had plenty of free time today, I had the time to update again for all of you. Two updates in one day, that's a first for me.
Editted for medical accuracy 6-23-19.
The information about Harry's specific brain tumor can be found at .com.
Disclaimer: *looks over my shoulder* Nope, I don't have any fangirls or fanboys following me, so I'm not JKR.
Chapter eleven: the Cancer Bash
..:..
Harry and Neville made their way to the entrance hall awaiting Professor Snape's arrival. Harry noticed rather peculiarly that he felt oddly detached from the worry that he expected to feel this afternoon. All of the fear and apprehension at going for the Muggle MRI had evaporated from him. Harry turned to Neville who was jostling his leg up and down nervously, asking, "Did I seem less anxious than I was this morning at the DA meeting earlier?"
"Yeah, you didn't get irked even when some of the children gave you a hard time. I just thought that you were being your usual brave self though, do you think that something's wrong with your health, I mean besides the whole cancer thing?"
"Yes. Now that I think of it. Ordinarily I'd be rather worried about how Professor Snape is going to treat me now that he knows that I'm the ill student in his care."
"Why do you reckon that is?"
"You seem to be under the influence of a potion. But oddly, it doesn't seem to be one that's hazardous to your health. Did Madame Pomfrey give you anything to drink while you were in the hospital wing earlier? If so, did it taste weird?"
"Yes, my pumpkin juice tasted rather odd. I thought that it was the taste of the two steroid tablets that I took with my breakfast though. She dosed me with a calming draft didn't she?"
"I can't say for sure since potions aren't my forte, but probably. Maybe she was concerned that you'd become upset if you were anxious about today."
"Makes sense to me."
Severus Snape swooped into the entrance hall at that moment, interrupting their conversation. "Mr. Potter are you ready to go? Why are you here Mr. Longbottom?"
"I'm ready if you are," said Harry politely. "Neville is here because I asked him if he'd accompany me to hospital. Is that okay with you?"
By the look on their professor's face, Harry could tell that he wanted desperately to say no, but with much effort on his part, his face relaxed into his normal expression. "I suppose, as long as you two behave yourselves, no shenanigans though or I won't make this exception to the rules again, do I make myself clear?"
"Yes sir," chorused the boys.
"Follow me to the gates of Hogwarts please," said Severus, his robes billowing as he went. "We'll be traveling by side-along appearation, but we have to get past the anti-appearation wards before we can. I'll transport Potter to the hospital first then you Mr. Longbottom."
Neville groaned.
He didn't like appearation that much.
Judging by the look on Neville's face, Harry wasn't going to like the sensation of appearating very much.
"Is it that bad," asked Harry worriedly.
"Yes. Gran appearates me whenever necessary, even though I've done it loads of times, the sensation is still disconcerting."
"Thank goodness I got dosed by Poppy then," muttered Harry to Neville. "Now I'm not nervous about our transportation and that's saying a lot since I usually detest magical travel of any kind except for broom flying."
"Why can't I get dosed too," bemoaned Neville.
"Because you're not as awesome as the great Harry Potter that's why," said Harry in jest. Both of the boys knew that it was because Madame Pomfrey didn't want the cancer kid to be unduly stressed out by what he was going through, and joking about it made it all seem more bearable.
"It's not really a good thing though," said Harry.
"Why is that," asked Neville looking over his shoulder at Harry.
"Because I'm not supposed to take two many potions with the medication and potions regimen I'm about to start that's why. This could cause a worsening of symptoms."
"Oh," replied Neville lamely. "Maybe healer Robertson won't get to hospital until it wears off, it'll save Pomfrey from getting told off."
"Yeah," said Harry. "She meant well, her judgement was just clouded by her concern for my welfare that's all."
The potions master unlocked the gates beckoning the two children to follow him outside. The wooden gate closed behind them. Harry watched on with interest as Severus cast a very powerful and complicated locking spell on them to ensure the safety of the kids still in the castle.
"Mr. Potter if you would. Hold tightly to my arm and don't for any reason let go. I don't want to get you splenched, it'd be more than my job's worth if such a tragedy happened."
Still feeling no nervousness, Harry did as his potions instructor bade him and before he knew it, they turned on the spot and were gone.
Harry landed without the embarrassment of falling over. The vertigo was throwing his balance off much like it had done last night in the Headmaster's office. Harry fell over roughly on the ground feeling completely like rubbish. It would seem that having the sensation of having one's stomach squeezed out one's ears didn't agree with him. For that was what he felt like after being squeezed through a rubber tube. No, he definitely did not want to appearate ever again if at all possible.
"Are you going to be quite alright," asked Severus bending down to have a closer look at Harry. "Not going to sick up on me are you? And if I might ask, how did you find yourself on the ground. Surely you're constitution is not this poor."
"No, I don't think so," said Harry. "Balance problems are a side-effect of my brain tumor sir."
" Oh," said Severus unsure what else to say about the incident. "Fine, wait here while I go get Longbottom."
Harry got up off of the hard ground and stood unsteadily on his feet once more.
In what seemed like mere moments, Professor Snape reappeared with Neville. Harry was relieved to see that his mate wasn't missing any spare bits.
"Oooouuuuu, that wasn't pleasant said Neville.
"Oh sharpen up you two. We've got an appointment to keep. Remember that everyone here except for healer Robertson is a Muggle so do not mention our world whilst we're here. We don't want anyone violating the statute of secrecy now do we," asked Severus sarcastically.
"Only if it's you," said Harry.
"What's that Mr. Potter? Speak up I didn't hear you."
"I said something that I oughtn't repeat if it's alright with you," said Harry cheekily.
"I don't doubt that no doubt. You're your father's son through and through."
"But I have my mother's eyes," said Harry.
"Yes you do, but if you don't treat me with respect I'll dock points when we get back do you understand me you two?"
Harry felt bad getting Neville dressed down for something that he had said. "Sorry Nev and Professor Snape I'm sorry for what I said."
The trio made their way from behind a large building and around to the front after they had taken off their robes and in Neville's case transfigured his clothes into muggle ones. Harry and Severus it seemed had come prepared to meet Muggles except for their robes.
"I'll banish our robes back to Hogwarts," said Severus raising his wand to do so.
"Very good, now follow me."
..:..
A few minutes later, Harry found himself in the muggle hospital in Chelsea on the fourth level, which was the oncology ward. He didn't really know what he expected to happen once they arrived, but somehow sitting in a comfortable chair and waiting just didn't seem as dramatic of a scene as Harry had been prepared for.
"How long do you reckon it'll take for someone to come and see me," asked Harry of his friend who was sitting right beside him.
"Not long. From what Elisa says, things around here happen rather quickly and efficiently. Cancer is a fast paced disease if not treated promptly and the muggle workers do sometimes have a flair for dramatics."
"Do you want to add new items to my "before I die" list," asked Harry.
"Sure thing. Let's see what you have."
Harry reached into his trousers pocket and pulled out the list. The two boys ignored Professor Snape's presence instead throwing themselves into the task at hand.
"How about going to an amusement park," whispered Neville to Harry. "That isn't on here. Elisa went to one over the summer. She didn't care for it much, but I think you'd love it. Some of the rides go as fast as a broomstick."
That definitely sounded right up Harry's alley so he wrote it down with a quill that Professor Snape had conjured for them.
The two continued to add to the list, their items ranged from anything ranging from going to the cinema to going to a department store.
Before they knew it, a knock came at the door.
"Come in," said Professor Snape.
"Hi my name is Nurse Amy. I'm here to get Mr. Potter ready for his MRI scan."
Harry was glad that the nurse had came to get him because he didn't like the idea of Severus sitting their watching his friend and himself making plans for their future. He didn't think that any of this except for the potion brewing part of the process was any part of his professor's business.
"Would you mind getting in the wheelchair for me Harry," said Nurse Amy.
"How do you know my name," asked Harry as he made his way towards the wheelchair.
"The hospital got a copy of your medical records prior to your arrival here," said Amy smiling. "I make it a point to try and connect with all of the patients right off the bat."
"Err alright. Where are we going," he asked.
"To the radiology department of course. We need to get a picture of your brain so that we know which kind of tumor we're looking at."
"Isn't it enough that my 'scan' shows that I do in fact have a brain tumor? I don't see why we need another one."
Harry decided to use the word scan as a euphemism for the diagnostic charms that Madame Pomfrey did, correctly sussing that she was in fact muggle.
"Because your CT didn't show us a detailed enough image for us to base your treatment plan on."
Harry didn't know exactly what a CT was but just went with it.
"Oh," said Harry. "I didn't know that."
"It's quite all right. We'll be back shortly," said the nurse to Severus and Neville. "Just wait here please. Vending machines are at the end of the corridor."
Severus didn't know exactly what vending machines were but he wasn't going to demean himself by asking Longbottom for clarification.
The oncology nurse pushed Harry's wheelchair out the door and down the corridor.
"Radiology is on the first level," said Nurse Amy pushing the button for the lifts.
The lift arrived and she pushed Harry's chair into the lift waiting patiently for the door of the lift to close before pushing the right button.
Once they made it down to level one, the door opened and Harry found himself being taken down several corridors and through a door or two.
Finally they arrived at a door labeled radiology.
"We're finally here," said Harry. "Can I get out of this chair, I am quite capable of walking myself if that's alright with you."
"Hold on just one minute," said the nurse, pushing him up to a big machine with a table sticking out of it.
"Here is your gown, please take off all of your clothes and put this on if you don't mind."
"Even my pants?"
"No those can stay on for the duration of the test. A radiology tech will be here shortly to begin.
Harry waited until she left then got changed and onto the table as asked.
After the nurse had left, Harry just lay their. Due to the calming draft that was still in his system, Harry was completely relaxed.
A few minutes later, a knock came at the door. "Come in."
"Hi Mr. Potter. We need to get an IV started for the contrast dye."
"Let me take a look and see what we have here."
The Tech put on gloves and began to look for a vein to start a line in.
"My goodness, what's wrong with your arm?"
"Um I don't exactly know. I went for medical tests yesterday and when I woke up this morning they looked like this."
"Do you by chance have any allergies?"
"Not that I'm aware of."
"This looks like a latex allergy. Let me go and get one of my colleagues to confirm it. I can't use these gloves or these supplies if this is indeed the case."
"But you can still do the MRI right?"
"Yes."
The next time Harry looked up, he saw the tech from before and an unfamiliar nurse standing beside him looking at his arm.
"Did you have any blood drawn yesterday," asked the nurse. "Was latex used at all?"
"I think that it was. No one mentioned any potential allergies to me before they drew my blood."
"Alright, then it's fair to say that you're indeed allergic to latex. We'll make a note in your chart so that everyone on your treatment team can glove up appropriately from now on."
The tech tied the tourniquet around his good arm and searched for a vein. Finding a good one, she inserted the IV.
"We're going to scan you without contrast first. This device will help immobilize your head throughout the test."
Harry's head was positioned properly and the test began.
After the test was complete, the table Harry lay on was ejected from the machine and the contrast was administered before they restarted the test.
The remainder of the test whilst loud was very uneventful. Harry lay completely still so that they could get a good picture for his Doctor.
After the contrast porsion was done, Harry was glad for it to be over as the MRI was rather cramped and noisy.
He was brought back to his room by Nurse Amy who reassured him that everything would be fine and that his oncologist would be buy later with the results.
"Where's Professor Snape," asked Harry.
"He mentioned that he had to go to Diagon Alley and Knockturn Alley to get some potions ingredients for your chemotherapy solution to be made," said Neville.
"Yay, so we're on our own?"
"Looks like it."
Harry asked Neville for his wand (he had handed it to him before entering the hospital so that the muggles wouldn't find it).
He cast a silencing charm on the door so that they could chat about whatever they pleased until healer Robertson came by. Since he was not a Muggle, they weren't breaking any rules right?
..:..
A knock came on the door and it swung open.
"Why hello their Harry. How are you?"
"Fine, my arm itches a bit though."
"Nurse Amy said that during the process of your MRI they discovered that you're allergic to latex, is that true?"
"Yes sir. Are either of my medical alternatives to IV's no longer available due to my allergy?"
"No, we will now be using latex free supplies when treating you."
"Okay."
"Do you mind if Neville stays or would you like him to leave while I talk to you? We have your results Harry."
"He is more than welcome to stay."
"Alright. That really means a lot to me."
"Your MRI came back as one that's positive for brain cancer as I knew it would. Now that we've got these images to go by, we were able to draw up a treatment plan for you. But first let me explain a little about your specific brain tumor. You have what is known as a diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) which is an aggressive type of childhood cancerous tumor that forms in the brain stem. That's the area at the base of your brain that connects the brain to the spine. ... About 300 children a year are diagnosed with DIPG in the United Kingdom. I know that this isn't easy to hear," said the healer in a concerned tone. "But I promise you that it gets easier if not necessarily better. Before you know it, you'll be back playing Quidditch again. For the Cannons naturally."
"How bad is it? You said that the tumor is an aggressive one, is our original treatment plan not going to work or something," asked Harry. "They're not my favorite team, however Ron would love an invite to play on the Cannon's team as Keeper."
"Yes, for the most part it will. The only real difference is that your cycles of treatment will only have a break of two days a week off and five days on. This is due to the seriousness of your cancer. Since your magic has been keeping your symptoms down, you've appeared to be in better health than you are. Now that we know this, it is of utmost concern that you start both your radiotherapy and chemotherapy on Monday evening. You will begin the MCDI tomorrow night. This potion will be taken by an injection through either your port or your Hickman line. You will come to hospital Monday through Friday evenings at six each evening for the radiation for six to eight weeks. Then you will return to school and have some time either for rest or recreation before you go to Professor Snape's quarters at eight for your infusion and the MCDI. At the end of the sixth week of radiation treatments, we will rescan your brain to see if the treatment is having any affect. If it is having some affect then we can stop the radiotherapy, if not, then the radiation will continue for the maximum of eight weeks. This of course is not the ideal option, as radiation is very dangerous and there is a maximum amount of radiation that you can undergo in your lifetime. If we manage to put this cancer into remission with all of the treatments that we have planned, you will still need to take a month more of once a week infusions for one more month. This step isn't mandatory but is one I prefer because we want to lessen the reoccurance rate of the cancer. You will also need to take this pill every morning and before bed. It is a anti-convolsant. It should prevent you from having any seizures. If it should prove ineffective, there are of course other medications we can try."
Harry sat their stunned. Sure he knew he had cancer before coming here today, but it was entirely a different matter to be given a specific diagnosis. It made it somehow more real.
Was this treatment plan going to kill him or cure him? Should he make defeat the Dark Lord a higher priority on his list of things to do? How much time did he have before he would die?
"Are you alright Harry," asked Neville in concern.
"No but I will be," said Harry honestly. Being honest with his friends was something that he often struggled with, but now he decided he would make it more of a priority on his to-do list. "Why can't you remove the tumor like they do on the telly," asked Harry.
"Because your tumor is enoperable. DIPG's are sometimes operable, but we caught yours extremely late in the game."
"Here Mr. Potter is a goblet of water, please take this pill now and tonight before bed. When you leave tomorrow, we'll give you a prescription to be filled, you will have to take it along with your steroid, this will be the anti-convolsant we discussed."
Harry took the items from his healer and drank the pill down with the water.
"What about my morning medications?"
"You can still take them as indicated just with as small of a sip of water as possible."
"But I thought that I couldn't have anything after midnight."
"You can't have any food yes this is true, but we will have to make this alteration to the norm due to the seriousness of your condition. Every pill you swallow and every potion that is given to you at this point will increase your odds of survival."
"I'm not trying to depress you any further, but DIPG tumors are usually considered fatal. Treatment is usually targeted to quality of life not a cure. That being said, you might have a chance since we're using the 'chemo' that we are. It's your best chance. Your tumor as luck would have have it, appears to be a grade IV. How we've determined that is by the way it looks on the film, size, shape and appearance. It would be optimal if we could biopsy it, but we're unable to do this because of where it's located. How are you taking this Harry?"
"Poorly. I thought…hoped that we had caught it in time despite Poppy's reluctant opinion. But I should've known, when it comes to me, it's go big or go home," said Harry laughing nervously. It would appear as if his calming draft had begun to wear off. What a bummer.
"You've got this mate," said Neville.
"If you say so," said Harry. "How many months will I have to undergo the 'chemo'?"
"For as many as your body can tolerate. Like I said, we're going to fight this with all we've got, but I won't lie to you, the outcome is grim."
"So say a year or a year and a half of treatment," hedged Harry.
"More like two years plus."
Harry cringed.
"But I'll be graduated from school by then."
"Yes, but that's all the more reason for you to fight this thing."
"So Harry," said healer Robertson. "Are you familiar with your options for your treatment to be given by?"
"Neville told me about the Hickman line. He also mentioned a port but admitted that he didn't know much about it."
"I'm sitting right here you know," said Neville.
"Yes you dolt I know that."
"Well the port is placed under your skin with a catheter that is placed under the skin. This allows for medications to be given to you more efficiently. It goes just under your collar bone. The surgeon will also make an incision in your neck to place the catheter. You may be able to feel the scepter and the catheter but it will not be easily visible."
"This is the one I want," said Harry.
"That's a relief," said Robertson. "For this is the one that as your physician I would recommend for you. In order to prepare for the procedure, we ask that you do not eat after midnight. Once you get back to Hogwarts, either Poppy or Severus will be able to heal both incision sites for you. Here you will be closed up with either stitches or surgical glue."
Harry looked a bit squeamish at the whole procedure. He would have to go to theater. He had assumed that this procedure would be a risky one, but the healer had talked like it was a common procedure to have.
"Will Severus be able to use my port for my first MCDI treatment tomorrow night?"
"Yes, the person placing the port will already have a needle in the port so that it can be accessed tomorrow night. They will do this while you're under the anesthesia."
"Can I go home tomorrow as planned?"
"Yes of course."
"Now rest up. You're going to need to be strong for this," said the healer. "They'll come and get you for the fitting of your mask."
"My mask?"
"For the radiation, it has places marked to show the radiologist where to irradiate."
Harry almost wished that he hadn't asked. For their were some things he just did not want to know.
..:..
Several hours later, Harry walked into what appeared to be the oncology playroom. It had been decorated up for the party. Chairs aligned the walls and were sitting at a table in the center of the room. Over in a corner was a toy box full of toys and such for the younger children to play with. Their was also a television along one wall that the patients could watch, which was currently turned off.
Around the edges of the room sat several teens, some with hair and some without. Several younger children sat at the table; they had chosen to draw pictures instead of go sit by the cool kids around the perimeter of the room, which was where Harry was headed.
Harry walked up to a girl who looked about the same age as himself and confidently said, "My name is Harry, what's yours?"
"Ashley. Is this your first time?"
"Yes. I was only officially diagnosed with a name to my kind of brain cancer today."
"Yeah, I figured that you were new what with the hair and all."
"You never know, I could be in remission."
"Nah, then I'd recognize your face."
"What type of cancer do you have Ashley?"
"I have lymphoma."
"Not in remission I see," said Harry teasingly.
"But I will be soon," said the girl with conviction in her voice.
"Who's your doctor," asked Harry.
"My oncologist is Dr. Andrews. Three of my friends have the same oncologist as I do. Speaking of which, do you want to meet my compadrays?"
"Sure. My oncologist is Dr. Robertson."
"That's awesome. I hear that he's the best," said Ashley. "His remission rates are some of the highest in the hospital."
"That's a darn good thing since I have DIPG grade IV."
"Ouch. And you say that they only told you that today?"
"Yes but the tumor was spotted on a previous scan, it was to blurry to tell what kind of brain cancer it was until now though. Lucky me eh?"
"Don't let the cancer get you down. Always remember to smile and have a positive outlook on life because that's all we've got here."
Harry and Ashley walked over to the group of teens sitting in the chairs lounging around as if they didn't have a care in the world.
"Who is this hot dude you have with you milady," asked a blond haired teen.
"His name is Harry and he's a real sweetheart."
"My name is Michael," said the blond boy. "And I have leukemia."
"Nice to meet you. My name is Harry and I have a DIPG brain tumor."
"He's got doctor Robertson just like you do Adam," said Ashley.
"That's splendid. He's a fine doc," said Adam. "I am also fighting brain cancer."
The rest of the group told their cancer diagnosis, their names and who their doctors were. Before you knew it, the group had become fast friends and it was all thanks to Ashley.
Brook who was in remission went and got everyone refreshments and beverages at some point in the conversation.
"So what're we doing for Halloween," asked Chris who had said that he had bone cancer when introduced.
"There's going to be a dance. And the best news of all is that we can bring nonmembers of the group as dates," said Ashley excitedly.
"You would like that," said Gail. "You of course will bring Toney right?"
"You know it girl."
Harry's facial expression went from slightly interested to one of happiness.
"We get to bring someone with us, like a real date," asked Harry giddily.
"Yes silly," said Brook. "It's a dance for God's sake."
If Harry had had his way, he knew just who he'd bring. The tricky part was going to be how to get Draco Malfoy to say yes to this when he had only just apologized to him this morning.
..:..
Harry lay comfy in his hospital bed. He saw only his roommate who went by the name Rick. He was a ten year old who was battling stomach cancer.
Harry was bored, because he really didn't know how to talk to this young muggle. Earlier, the conversation had flown smoothly but now the silence just drug on and on.
The Boy-Who-Lived wished now more than ever that one of his mates was at hospital to keep him calm.
But Neville had been picked up by Professor Snape before the party. The Professor had claimed that he had to get back to brew the two potions and that he would be unable to leave the cauldron later to pick him up so therefore he had to go, but Harry wondered suspiciously if this were the case. Or if Severus's tolerance of the human population had been met for the day and he found himself no longer able to tolerate the company of others.
The calming draft had long worn off by now.
Harry had cried a bit earlier when he lay down in his bed, thinking only of the bad possible outcomes, but then he had remembered what Ashley had told him about staying positive.
He rested until Nurse Amy brought them their dinner and handed them their medications.
"I'll bring your anti-convolsant by tonight around eight Harry. Is that alright?"
"Yes Ma'am."
"And remember no eating or drinking after midnight except for your morning meds okay."
..:..
Severus got to working on Potter's potions right away, mincing, dicing, chopping and crushing ingredients. He put them into the concoction as soon as they were ready. He was determined to brew the two potions perfectly. He was not going to be the cause of Lily Evan's son's death if he could prevent it.
First he would finish up the one he was working on now, the relatively easily brewed MCDI, then he would move on to the more challenging chemotherapy draft. It was going to be one of the more complex potions that Severus would successfully brew in a long time.
..:..
A/N: I had originally planned on writing much more for the cancer party but didn't want to get to close to the scene from a fic that I have previously read, so I stopped their. Next chapter will contain the surgery and much much more. Did you like it, hate it, or are you indifferent to it?
I spent a lot of time writing this chapter today, I hope that you found it to your taste.
As for Harry being able to take his medication before a procedure, my doctor has always allowed me to do that before being put to sleep, so I'm assuming that it's okay with Harry's oncology team.
When responding to a review I went back to check on the contents of the chapter and realized that I forgot to explain why Harry couldn't have an operation to increase his odds of beating the tumor. In real life they can sometimes be enoperable, I had a friend once who this was the case, hence Harry's is. If some medical inaccuracys bother you, then perhaps this fic isn't for you. I am not a medical professional. I just wanted you all to know. Online you can do the research and find that DIPG's are enoperable due to them being in the braim stem some of the time. I read that online from a medical website yesterday and thought that I had explained it. Lol I didn't but that's been rectified. Thanks for the person who told me about the MRI medical bit that I needed to fix.