Denial and the Enormous Ovarian Mass; A Story of Surviving Ovarian Cancer

By Larry Puls @Larrypulsauthor

Ovarian Cancer Surgery

Midday, Friday afternoon, a long week. There’s a call on the line. A referral. One that my memory will not let go of—even after two decades. Transport will have her here in two hours.

I walk into her room—now five o’clock. A glance defines a thousand words. Her shoulders yield information—skin over bone, a starving patient? I look back at the chart. She is over three hundred pounds. Really? I turn again to this woman. Those shoulders, those emaciated shoulders, say malnourished. My eyes move lower. There under the covers is something that I cannot adequately describe. A mass. A growth. Big, beyond comprehension. My eyes rudely continue their stare. Shock and awe. The power of denial lived out in front of me. How long has that been there? I can only imagine.

Death and Dying of the Cancer Patient from a Doctor's Perspective

By Larry Puls @Larrypulsauthor

Death and Dying

I stand at the door—afraid. Take a deep breath. Just another room. One I have been in a thousand times before. Inside a bed, a bathroom, an IV pole—a friend. And while I stand there, inside my head resides angst over the unrevealed information. Still frozen in the hallway, I cannot reach out and touch the door handle. It seems so foreboding and ominous, so far away. When I finally attempt the move, a choking feeling ascends in my throat, weakening me—even for a minute. I am paralyzed. You have to go in.