Page 76 of Connectio

I stand up, turn around, and lift my T-shirt. “Just here,” I say, pointing to the protruding mass.

She prods and squeezes it. “No pain?”

“No.”

“Hmm… my guess is it’s a lipoma, like the last one. But let’s get an ultrasound just to be sure.” She scans the rest of my back then turns me to face her, scanning my abdomen, neck and face, until her eyes meet mine. “Good. Trichilemmomas are minimal. How about any new oral papillomas?”

I shake my head and smile. “None.”

“Excellent!” She pats the examination table. “Lay down and I’ll examine your breasts. You know the drill, bra and T-shirt off.”

Like I’ve done countless times before, I remove my clothing and rest my arms above my head.

Dr Tao rubs her hands together then places them on my skin, gently kneading my breasts with her fingertips. “Have you been checking weekly?” she asks.

I scrunch my nose. “Mostly.”

“No changes?”

“I don’t think so.”

She pauses and moves her hands back over the same spot. “You’re due for a breast scan, so let’s get that done, as well as your thyroid.” She steps back, removes her gloves, and washes her hands again. “When was the last time we scanned your ovaries?”

“Three months ago.”

“Any pain or changes to your menstruation?”

“No.”

“Good.”

“No ultrasound of the ovaries too?” I ask.

She smiles and shakes her head. “I don’t think it’s necessary so soon, but if you’d like to do—”

I raise my hands. “No. Just the three scans will do.”

She chuckles, taps on her computer, and then prints out my referrals. “Okay. Book these in as soon as possible and make an appointment to see me again next month. If the results show anything we need to address, I’ll give you a call, and we can go from there.”

I take the sheets of paper from her. “Thank you. See you next month then.”

“You will. Goodbye, Elizabeth.”

As I exit the room, Carly stands and smiles, her smile faltering when she sees the referrals in my hand.

“Everything okay?” she asks.

I nod. “Yeah. Just the norm.”

Hesitation clouds her eyes, so I reassure her with a little more information. “Routine thyroid and breast scan and a scan of a lump on my back, which Dr Tao isn’t concerned about.”

Carly loops her arm in mine and rests her head on my shoulder. “I hate this.”

I scoff. “Then why do you come?”

“Because you need me to.”

I don’t, not really. This is my life and has been for a long time.