Tiana sat silently in a doctor's office while her husband, Naveen, played with their five-year-old daughter, Jamie. Jamie possessed her father's skin tone, smile, and eye shape. Otherwise, she considerably resembled her mother right down to the dimples.
Tiana sincerely felt her daughter was a gift from her late father, seeing how she shared the same birthday as her late grandfather. So naturally, they named his granddaughter after him.
Right now, Naveen was entertaining his daughter with his ukulele while she squeezed the stuffed animal that her grandmother sewed to resemble Ray. It was their daughter's favorite toy in the whole world. Next, her husband did a good rendition of "Ma Belle Evangeline," their daughter's favorite song. Jamie's middle name was Evangeline!
Applauding, "More, Daddy! Sing it again!" she requested, and her father shook his head. "Sorry, Tadpole. Daddy's voice is essentially gone from singing nine times already."
His daughter pouted while her father laughed. "Don't worry, Tadpole. I'll sing it again after my vocal cords recover. Right now, Mommy needs us to be there for her, understand?"
"Why is Mommy seeing the doctor?" Jamie inquired, to which her father answered.
"Tadpole, you're mommy been feeling under the weather. So the doctor's going to try and perk her up. Therefore please behave, okay?"
"Yes, Daddy," and went back to playing with her stuffed animal. Tiana smiled for a moment before a frown crossed her attractive features. "It's going to be okay, Tiana. We shouldn't worry until we have to."
"We are even lucky the physician agreed to see me. You know, if it weren't for your and Lottie's influence, I wouldn't even be seen by a doctor," referring to the discrimination in New Orleans.
Tiana eternally considered herself fortunate her best friend, Lottie, never cared about the fact she was African-American, nor did her father. Not everyone accepted race-mixing, and Tiana knew when to count her blessings. Without her status as a princess moreover, Lottie's wealth, no physician would've even seen her for the predicament she was facing. A terrifying predicament.
Eventually, the doctor called them into his office. Tiana suddenly wished they had left Jamie with her grandmother. But, unfortunately, Eudora was occupied sewing a friend's wedding dress.
She wasn't able to work on the dress and watch Jamie at the same time. Jamie was an incredibly energetic, curious, and resourceful little girl. Her mother was already working on teaching her daughter to work hard. Although not work so hard, you neglect other parts of your life.
Facing the gray-haired Dr. Clark, Tiana braced herself for the bad news. "I'm afraid its as we feared, Ms. Tiana. The biopsy showed the lump in your right breast is malignant. I'm afraid this confirms the diagnose of breast cancer."
The only reason Tiana didn't burst into tears was that Jamie was in the room. She couldn't break down with her daughter in the room. At five years old, she didn't understand the concepts of a life-or-death matter. Or even know what the word "cancer' meant. Naveen knew they needed to discuss some serious matters with the doctor. The doctor understanding the problem of having a small child in the room, sent for a nurse.
A cheerful young nurse came and took Jamie to get some ice cream while her parents discussed their treatment options with the doctor. Finally, Dr. Clark suggested scheduling a date to come in for a mastectomy. Hearing the words mastectomy scared the hell out of Tiana. Even Naveen was visibly sick from the idea of his wife being put under, then having her breast removed.
"I understand the very thought of cancer is a living nightmare. However, I believe this is your only realistic option at this point, Ms. Tiana. The sooner you've got the surgery, the better."
"I need a little time to talk to my family. They deserve to know what's going on before we schedule the surgery. Also, I need to figure out how to explain this to my daughter."
"Okay, but please don't take longer than a week. Breast cancer progresses quickly. However, I do understand that you need to discuss this with your family first. Let me know by the weekend when to schedule the surgery. Now you best get your daughter home. This won't be an easy thing to explain to your child."
"Thank you, Dr. Clark. We'll be in touch." as the young couple both took a deep breath before going to collect their daughter. Waiting outside to take them home was Lottie.
Even though Big Daddy didn't believe his daughter should be driving, Lottie had convinced her daddy she could handle this one time. The look on her best friend's face crushed her soul.
"Aunt Lottie!" cried Jamie running to who was her godmother. "Hey, Princess. How are you today?" she asked while hugging her goddaughter.
"I got to have chocolate ice cream!"
"That sounds tasty. Make sure to buckle up, sweetheart."
"Okay, Aunt Lottie!"
Lottie wanted to ask Tia what the diagnosis was. But she knew better than to ask for it when her goddaughter was in the room. So instead, she drove them back to the restaurant where the couple inhabited an apartment overhead.
They explained to Jamie to play in her bedroom as the grownups needed to talk. Then, only understanding it to be boring grownup stuff, the little girl obediently headed to her room to play. Once the door to their daughter's bedroom locked, Lottie asked the question she'd been dreading. "Let me guess, Tia. It's bad news?"
"Yes, Dr. Clark confirmed I've cancer," and finally, Tiana broke down into tears. Lottie hugged her best friend tightly, saying over and over it was going to be okay.
"Don't worry about the cost of the surgery, Tia. Big Daddy and I'll cover it and any other medical expenses you have. That's what friends do. So don't worry about that," she hugged her tightly.
"Thank you, Lottie," as Tia wiped the tears from her eyes. Naveen held her hand tightly.
"Don't despair, Tiana. I'll have my parents and everyone back home prays for a successful surgery and recovery. When someone in the royal family is sick, the whole nation instantly goes into prayer."
"Thanks, Naveen. However, what about the business or Jamie? How is the restaurant going to stay afloat if I'm gone?
You're an excellent restaurant attendant, Naveen, but you're lousy when balancing the books. Also, I can't imagine you even running the restaurant and trying to raise our daughter by yourself."
"Tiana, our daughter's more relevant than the business. Yes, you worked all your life for this establishment. But if we're forced to close the doors, I'd rather it be for our daughter than anything else."
"Naveen's right, Tia. Your daughter's way more significant than the restaurant."
"You're both right, of course. We still need to talk to my mother regarding what is going on. Then ultimately figure out how to tell Jamie her mommy's extremely sick."
No one noticed that Jamie was listening at the door. She didn't understand everything her parents and aunt were talking about. Yet, she was intelligent enough to know whatever happened at the doctor was extremely bad.
Jamie's first instinct was to look up at the sky for Ray and Evangeline. But, once she saw them, she pleaded with them to help her mommy. Whatever was wrong with her, please help her.
When Eudora found out her only child had cancer, she nearly lost it. Again the only thing keeping everyone from breaking down was Jamie. After many long hours of discussion, they figured out everything except how to tell their daughter. Finally, with a heavy heart, Tiana went to her daughter's bedroom to break the news. "Jamie? Can we talk, please?"
Jamie rushed into her mommy's arms. "Mommy! I know you're sick! But, I've asked for help from Grandpa, Ray, and Evangeline! They'll help make you better! They'll make you better! They got to!"
"Oh, sweetheart, it's always good to ask for help. However, wishing for something doesn't make it come true, remember? But thanks for letting your grandfather and friends know to look out for me."
"They have to make you better!" she repeated as her mother hugged her sobbing daughter.
"Baby, sometimes bad things happen. You've to be strong, Tadpole. Please be strong," Tiana pleaded with her baby.
"I'll be strong, Mommy! I promise!" she said through her tears.
"Good girl. Now I want you to remember I'm always with you. Even if I'm not here, I'm with you in here," she pointed to her daughter's heart. Then, nodding, they hugged again.
One week later, Tiana went in for her mastectomy, practically all New Orleans praying for her. It took hours before she was wheeled out into the recovery. Thankfully she'd survived the surgery. They had to do another biopsy to make sure they got all of it. Furthermore, it hadn't spread anywhere else in her body. After they cleared her medically, she began the long road to recovery. But with her family and friends by her side, she knew she was almost there. And she finally got there with their help.
Breast cancer is a type of cancer that starts in the breast. It begins when cells in the breast begin to grow out of control. Breast cancer cells usually form tumors that can often be seen on an x-ray or felt as a lump. Breast cancer is most common in women, but men can get breast cancer, too.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in American women, except for skin cancers. It is estimated that in 2021, approximately 30% of all new women's cancer diagnoses will be breast cancer. In addition, there are over 3.8 million breast cancer survivors in the United States.
So for women diagnosed with breast cancer in the early 1900s, the surgery took the form of a radical mastectomy, a type of surgery that lived up to its name. Professor Arnie Purushotham, a breast cancer surgeon and senior clinical adviser at Cancer Research U.K., explains: "These women were facing a severe operation.
Our modern approach to breast cancer treatment and research started forming in the 19th century. Consider these milestones: 1882: William Halsted performed the first radical mastectomy. This surgery will remain the standard operation to treat breast cancer until the 20th century.
Breast cancer was initially being treated as a local disease, and the primary treatment was radical surgery. Over time, radical surgery evolved into more breast-conserving surgery known as lumpectomy. In addition, radiation was used to control the local/regional disease.
Top 7 Signs Of Breast Cancer
Swollen lymph nodes under the arm or around the collarbone
Swelling of all or part of the breast
Skin irritation or dimpling
Breast or nipple pain.
Nipple retraction.
Redness, scaliness, or thickening of the nipple or breast skin.
Nipple discharge.
According to the National Cancer Institute, white, non-Hispanic women have the highest overall incidence rate for breast cancer among U.S. racial/ethnic groups. In contrast, Native-American women have the lowest rate.
Table 3.1. As seen in Table 3.1, the gap of breast cancer incidence is quite close between Black women and White women in the United States, but Black women are 42% more likely to die from this disease. Breast cancer also varies between states and different countries.
Jamie: Elizabeth M. Dampier: Child Tiana's voice
Change what ain't working.
If you're unhappy with the cards, you've been dealt, buy a new deck and deal yourself new ones.