The other kind of list - part 2 (Writing)

Dave was sympathetic - yep, here to get a cancer diagnosis and sympathizing with the intern. He was always so kind.
The supervisor, the surgeon, the big boss came in. He's a tall man, powerful, big handed but not hairy. Shaven headed - it's more common in Australia - especially among the balding. He's older, definitely older than the poor young intern, but not old - not old like our grandparents anyway. Air of confidence, almost arrogance. Brusque. "Well, mate, it's cancer" We just nodded, I was writing notes, I do it when I'm nervous, keeps the hands busy. I wrote CANCER, underlined it. "To be specific, it's called a chromatophobe tumor". I wrote it down - it's one of the subtypes I'd seen on the wikipedia page, I'd looked the first we'd heard about this tumor business. "It looks like we've got it early, you've got two choices" I write 1) on one line, 2) on the next. David was the first to ask - "Well, what are they, doc?". I think the tap was dripping. Might have been my fidgeting. There was definitely some kind of repetitive noise. "You can get the entire kidney removed, with the tumor, or we can open you up and try to just take the tumor". I write them down, dutiful, as though David wouldn't remember what the choices were unless I wrote them. I haven't been game enough to look back at the notes.
"Does it mean it's operable?" that was David. He likes specifics.
"Yeah, mate, we're going to operate". I have the idea only an Australian surgeon ever gets to say that.
"Chemo?" that was me. I'm not sure what I thought he'd say - still trying to process the 'operable' part. I wrote 'chemo'? on the page.
"Not unless we find something we're not suspecting in there. The tumor's encapsulated, see here" he points at the computer screen, at the ultrasound that accompanied the biopsy I was sure David wasn't going to wake up from. "That means it's all contained in a membrane" 'all in one piece, basically' the intern pipes up with. "So we can remove it, do some checking, but most likely, that'll take care of it". My hand had already written 'no' before I processed the news.