I froze.
“How long has it been there?”
“We can’t know exactly. But judging by its size, possibly several years.”
I gripped Thomas’s hand.
“Is it cancer?”
The doctor hesitated.
“We are concerned that it may be malignant. But the good news is that we appear to have found it relatively early.”
My hands immediately moved to my stomach.
“And my baby?”
“Your son looks healthy right now. We will coordinate everything carefully to protect both of you as much as possible.”
I stared at the scan.
Something had possibly been growing inside me for years.
No pain.
No symptoms.
No warning.
Then I asked the question that changed everything for me.
“If I had never gotten pregnant, when would you have found it?”
The doctor was silent for
a moment.
“Possibly much later.”
Thomas looked at me.
Neither of us said anything.
I thought about every person who had criticized me for wanting a baby at my age.
