Fifth Vital [EN]: Chapter 412

413. Biopsy

“Ji-yeon had a breast ultrasound.”

At the word ‘breast,’ Kim Mal-ja’s expression darkened instantly, like a curtain being drawn across a room.

I had deliberately avoided mentioning the word ‘breast,’ but her immediate, correct response made me feel like I was losing my grip on my sanity.

“Breast, you say?”

“Yes…”

“But what’s this about waiting for results? It’s an ultrasound; they usually tell you the results right away.”

“…”

“Aren’t you going to talk? Hyun-joon!”

“They did the ultrasound, but said a biopsy was needed. She had the biopsy, and we’re waiting for the results.”

“…!”

“Mother!”

As soon as Kim Mal-ja heard that her youngest daughter had a biopsy, she staggered and nearly collapsed. Her daughter’s boyfriend quickly supported her and helped her into a chair.

No parent would be unfazed to learn that their child’s ultrasound was abnormal enough to warrant a biopsy. But Kim Mal-ja’s reaction seemed different.

Even though the results weren’t out yet, she looked devastated, as if a major crisis was imminent.

“Are you alright, Mother?”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Ji-yeon specifically asked me not to say anything because she knew you’d be worried. I thought it was best not to tell you either.”

“How can you say that now? You should have told me. Why did she even get an ultrasound?”

“It wasn’t because she was in severe pain or anything. She just felt a twinge in her chest sometimes. During a company health checkup, they suggested she needed a more thorough examination, so she had additional tests.”

“Where did she get the tests done? You have to be careful with hospitals. There’s a good doctor I know in that field. We should go see him.”

“Actually, that doctor…”

As the two continued their serious conversation with grim expressions, Gu Ji-yeon, the subject of their discussion, entered the waiting room.

Creak-

Kim Mal-ja and her boyfriend stopped talking as Gu Ji-yeon entered. Kim Mal-ja rose from her chair with a scraping sound, looked at her daughter with a pitiful gaze, and then walked out.

“Why does Mom look like that? Did something happen between you two?”

Gu Ji-yeon, who had been to the restroom, sensed her mother’s unusual expression and asked her boyfriend.

“Your mother knows about your tests.”

“What! How? Did you tell her?”

“Why would I do that? She overheard our conversation. As soon as you left for the restroom, she came in and asked what was going on, so I had to tell her.”

“Ha! How could this happen?”

Gu Ji-yeon was at a loss, knowing that her mother had found out about her tests.

“Your mother seemed very shocked.”

“Of course. I’ll go see her.”

“Okay, I’ll take care of things here. Go quickly.”

Gu Ji-yeon left the waiting room and headed straight for the restaurant.

Since she had been going to the restaurant like it was her own home since she was little, she knew where her mother would be without having to ask.

“Mom, are you here? I’m coming in.”

Gu Ji-yeon passed the staff lounge inside the restaurant and entered the room connected to the office.

“Mom…”

“…”

“Hey, Mom, look at me.”

Despite Gu Ji-yeon’s affectionate words, Kim Mal-ja didn’t respond.

“Where did our pretty Kim Mal-ja go? No answer.”

“…”

“Mom, are you mad because I didn’t tell you?”

“Mad? You’re the one who had the tests; why would I be mad? I’m mad at myself.”

“What does that mean? Why are you mad at yourself?”

“Because of me… Because of me, my daughter had to get tested.”

Kim Mal-ja lamented, blaming herself for her daughter’s breast abnormality.

“There you go again! That’s why I didn’t want to tell you. Why is this your fault? You know I’ve been stressed because of work lately, right? They say the worst thing for your body is stress. If we have to blame something, it’s the stress I’ve been under, so don’t blame yourself.”

Gu Ji-yeon tried to reassure her distraught mother, but it wasn’t easy.

“How can it be your fault or stress? Your mother had breast cancer, so that’s why you’re like this. It’s my fault.”

That was right.

The reason Kim Mal-ja looked like her world was collapsing at the news of her youngest daughter’s biopsy and lamented that it was all her fault was because she had experienced breast cancer herself.

In the past, Kim Mal-ja, who had been living a relatively healthy life, returned home after finishing work at the restaurant as usual.

While showering in warm water to wash away the day’s fatigue, she felt something in her chest.

She had been busy with group reservations for several days, so she thought it was just muscle tension and didn’t think much of it.

There was no pain, so she figured it would go away after a day or two.

She didn’t take it seriously and forgot about it for a few days, but the lump in her chest didn’t disappear.

There was still no pain, but she thought it would be best to go to the local hospital for a checkup.

Even then, Kim Mal-ja didn’t think there was anything wrong with her body.

‘The ultrasound shows something concerning, so we need to do additional tests.’

‘Additional tests?’

‘Yes. We need to do a biopsy.’

‘Is it very bad?’

‘We can’t know for sure until the test results come back.’

After the biopsy, Kim Mal-ja visited the hospital a week later, and the doctor calmly told her she had cancer.

‘The test results came back as cancer. I’ll write you a referral, so please go to a large hospital as soon as possible.’

The hand holding the results trembled, but she couldn’t lose her mind because she needed to find a hospital for surgery.

She inquired about doctors who were good at breast cancer surgery and, after a difficult process to get an appointment, had surgery at a university hospital.

Kim Mal-ja was diagnosed with cancer in one breast, but she had a bilateral mastectomy, removing both breasts.

Before the surgery, she underwent several tests, including BRCA [BReast CAncer gene] testing, a type of genetic test.

The BRCA gene protects the body and repairs damaged DNA, preventing it from turning into cancer.

If the BRCA gene is damaged, mutant genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 are generated, increasing the risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and other cancers.

Kim Mal-ja tested positive for both BRCA1 and BRCA2. Because patients with the gene often develop cancer years later, Kim Mal-ja strongly requested complete removal of both breasts.

And she did not have breast reconstruction surgery.

If she had been younger, she would have had reconstruction surgery, but she was older and didn’t want it.

After successfully completing the surgery and being discharged from the hospital, Kim Mal-ja saw her flattened chest at home and cried for the first time.

She thought she would be okay, but she wasn’t okay when she saw the unfamiliar self in the mirror. She was overwhelmed with despair and unspeakable shame, feeling like her life as a woman was over.

But she couldn’t break down because she still had chemotherapy left.

She had to marry off her beloved children and wanted to live longer, so she bravely endured the difficult chemotherapy and lived even harder than before.

As a result, she was declared cancer-free by her doctor five years after the surgery.

‘You’ve worked hard. The record will show that you are cancer-free today. Thank you for your hard work.’

‘Is that really true? Thank you, Doctor.’

Kim Mal-ja was overjoyed and grateful on the day she was declared cancer-free.

But she had an indelible concern: the fear that her children might get cancer because of her.

No matter how advanced modern medicine is, the cancer treatment process is more difficult than you think.

The surgery was performed under anesthesia and wasn’t too difficult even after waking up. But the real difficulty was chemotherapy.

It was indescribably difficult during chemotherapy.

Fever, vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, and numbness in the hands and feet were unexpected side effects. The chemotherapy process is really hard to understand unless you’ve experienced it yourself.

Each person experiences different side effects and pain, but it’s the same for all patients.

There were many days when it was so painful that she wanted to cry, so she didn’t want her children to experience this pain.

But her youngest daughter, about to get married, had a breast biopsy, so it was like a bolt from the blue.

From Kim Mal-ja’s point of view, it felt like all sorts of worries were covering her entire body.

“Ji-yeon, it’s because of me… It’s my fault.”

She just kept thinking that it was all her fault.

“Our mom will be saying that for a while. My sister and I had genetic testing back then, and it came back normal. So, it’s not Mom’s fault.”

“Still, you were affected because of me.”

“That’s enough. No strange thoughts until the results come out.”

Gu Ji-yeon, who had shown her anxiety to her boyfriend in the waiting room earlier, looked bright and cheerful, completely different from before.

That’s because she didn’t want to show weakness in front of her mother, who was more worried and blaming herself than she was.

“Which hospital did you go to? Let’s go to the doctor who operated on me. He’s the best.”

“Actually, I went to that doctor.”

“Who? Dr. Kim Tae-kyung?”

“Yes.”

Years ago, Kim Mal-ja had surgery performed by Tae-kyung.

At that time, she received great strength thanks to Tae-kyung, who comforted patients with all his heart and sincerely treated them.

“But I didn’t say Mom’s name.”

“Why? You should tell him your name so he can pay more attention.”

“He was kind and explained everything very well. He did the biopsy so well that it didn’t hurt at all. I only saw him briefly when Mom was in the hospital. I thought he was a good person then, and he seems to be the same now.”

“By the way, when will your results come out?”

“Soon.”

“When is soon?”

“Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow? I’ll go with you.”

“Oh, no. I’ll just go and listen comfortably by myself.”

“There’s no need to say more. I’m going with you. If you go alone, I’ll be too curious to focus on work and won’t be able to do anything.”

“Okay. Then I’ll go with you.”

“Did you tell your sister and brother?”

“No, I’m going to tell them after I get the results. They’ll worry for no reason. And Dad too. Don’t tell them yet.”

“Okay, let’s do that. Ji-yeon…”

Kim Mal-ja took her daughter’s hand and expressed her sorry and worried feelings.