Disclaimer: see chapter three. The only character that belongs to me in this chapter is Dr. Handley.
Chapter Twelve- Meet Dr. Handley.
John entered the room behind the mysterious figure, and sat on one of the two vacant chairs. The figure then sat down and sifted through the papers on his desk, looking for a file. Scott entered the room, eyed the surroundings and sat down. Virgil followed Scott into the room and did a double take. He looked around, drinking in the surroundings. The office was huge. The room had a solid mahogany table and on it was a state of the art computer. The walls were sparkling white. It had a light and airy feel, there was sunlight streaming through the window that overlooked Manly Beach. One window was open, and a light sea breeze blew through into the room.
"If this is what your office is like, why is the waiting room so grotty?" Virgil muttered to no-one in particular.
The figure heard this, and looked up.
"Let's just say, patients are reassured when they see my office. Tell me, does this make me a better doctor or a worse one?" he questioned dryly.
Virgil smiled sheepishly as he understood the point the doctor was trying to make.
The doctor turned away from Virgil and looked at John and Scott. Hazarding a guess at which one was Scott, Dr. Handley looked at John.
"So, you must be Scott."
John shook his head, so Dr. Handley turned and faced the other person sitting there.
"Sorry about that. You must be Scott."
Scott nodded his head in acknowledgement.
"I have read your notes and I would like to get you into surgery as soon as possible. It is vital that we remove the cancer before it has a chance to spread further. However, I need to discuss the courses of treatment. You have a choice- you can have the chemotherapy and radiotherapy before the operation, or you can have it after the operation."
"Which one would you recommend?" Scott queried.
"I would recommend that you go for the surgery first because chemotherapy and radiotherapy weaken the body and that weakens the chances of survival." Doctor Handley paused, and then he continued. "However, if you choose to have the surgery first, we will have to wait a while before we can start the chemo and radiotherapy. Either way, there are risks and gains. But, like I said, it's entirely up to you."
Scott was utterly confused. He needed help. He shot a slight glance at Virgil and then John. John shrugged his shoulders and mouthed 'It's your decision.'
Virgil closed his eyes and exhaled heavily. After an eternity, it seemed, he murmured
"Go for the surgery first. You've got a higher chance of survival."
Scott looked at the doctor and addressed him.
"Doctor Handley, I would like to have the operation first and then the therapies."
"Excellent decision, Scott." Doctor Handley agreed. "Now, we have to fit you in." Doctor Handley glanced down at his appointment book. "Unfortunately, I don't have an empty appointment slot on Friday, but I do have a space on Wednesday." Doctor Handley picked up his pen and wrote Scott's name in the book. "Like I said, I would like to remove the cancer as soon as possible, before it has a chance to spread."
John was surprised at how fast Dr Handley could operate on Scott. He had read in a medical journal that it can take months for the life saving operation.
Doctor Handley clicked on his mouse, printed something, placed the printout in an enveloper and sealed it. He handed the envelope to Scott.
"Inside the envelope, there are details of the operations. There are consent forms that I need you to sign and bring with you, when you go to the hospital. " Saying that, Doctor Handley stood up, opened the door and showed them out.
AN: Please review. This chapter took ages to type, and I need to know if it was worth it.