Chapter 11: On Call Duty (2)

‘What is he talking about all of a sudden? We just confirmed that she has cancer. How do you think this patient will react if we say something like that?!’

Suhyuk glanced at Hwang Sunwoo as he scrutinized the image on the screen. Sunwoo had been casually scrolling down until he stopped at the right colon, where the ascending colon was located. There were numerous roundish masses around the ascending colon, and no matter how one looked at it, they appeared to be cancerous tumors.

Hwang Sunwoo’s face showed his certainty, and Suhyuk couldn’t entirely disagree with him. However, contrary to their expectations, Baruda started spouting unexpected information, his voice filled with conviction:

“There are no signs of obstruction typically associated with cancer.”

A blockage…

Suhyuk pondered Baruda’s words for a moment.

A blockage meant that something was obstructing a passageway similar to how feces could clog up the intestines.

Come to think of it, if this mass is cancerous, her bowels should already be blocked. Hmm, this is strange…

The patient had lost 22 pounds over the last month, but she never experienced any difficulty eating. In fact, when Suhyuk looked at her CT scan, he noticed stool passing behind the mass. This indicated that while there might be some narrowing, there wasn’t a complete blockage.

Damn you… If it’s such important information, you should’ve mentioned it earlier! Why bring it up now?

Suhyuk let out a sigh with a resentful expression on his face. Of course, Baruda couldn’t see Suhyuk’s expression, but as Baruda existed within Suhyuk’s body, he could sense it.

[Based on this situation, it is due to you, Suhyuk.]

Baruda inevitably blamed Suhyuk again.

‘What nonsense is this? What do you mean it’s my fault?’

[Your computational ability is significantly reduced compared to my original form. The processing speed of calculations has noticeably decreased.]

Suhyuk had no counterargument.

‘Damn.’

Every time they conversed, Suhyuk felt like he was losing more and more ground. However, Baruda’s claim was likely true.

How could Suhyuk’s brain compare to Baruda’s mainframe? It wasn’t just any machine either. It was a massive device created with the essence of Taehwa Electronics.

“In any case, it is highly unlikely that this patient has cancer. I recommend delaying notifying Hematology-Oncology.”

‘Damn… Shit… What should I do… Ah…’

Suhyuk looked back at Jiyoon who already had her phone in hand. She spoke confidently as expected. The secondary hospital also believed the patient had cancer, so naturally she would reach the same conclusion.

R/O Colon ca. Rec biopsy.

This was also written on the referral form. The previous doctor had requested a biopsy since he suspected colorectal cancer.

However, Suhyuk couldn’t ignore Baruda’s opinion. What if it wasn’t cancer but something else? Starting treatment for the wrong disease would have dire consequences for the patient’s prognosis. Suhyuk couldn’t allow that to happen.

‘It is my first night shift…’

Would his first diagnosis be a misdiagnosis of cancer?

He could brush off any criticism with ‘I’m only a first year.’

However, Suhyuk didn’t want to be just another first-year resident. He wanted others to acknowledge his abilities and distinguish himself as a medical professional. This way, he’d catch the attention of the professors, which would increase his chances of climbing higher up the ladder.

“Ummm, Dr. Hwang. I have something…to say.”

He braced himself for getting reprimanded as he firmly grasped Hwang Sunwoo’s hand.

Hwang Sunwoo was about to dial a number when Suhyuk grabbed his hand. His expression turned strange.

Has this bastard gone mad?

How dare someone touch him without permission? In the medical field, there is a saying that ‘upper years are heaven while lower years are earth’. In olden days, such actions would warrant a slap across the face with no complaints allowed.

Of course, Hwang Sunwoo was guilty of bullying juniors, not studying and ignoring seniors, but scumbags always had a way of justifying their actions. He believed all his actions were justified, yet it seemed like Suhyuk didn’t have any reason behind his actions.

Shit.

Suhyuk watched as Hwang Sunwoo transformed into a demonic figure before his eyes. He tensed up so he wouldn’t lose consciousness if suddenly slapped across the face.

At the same time, Suhyuk glanced down at Dr. Hwang’s trembling hand. It looked like it might fly towards him at any moment. However, contrary to his expectation, nothing happened.

‘Shit, if only Director Baekman was here…’

Thanks to what he had witnessed and heard yesterday, he knew exactly what would happen if he retaliated here. Before being hauled off by the director, he would have to endure hardships from Chief Kim Insoo and Pharmacist Kim Jinyong. Although Kim Insoo was quite reasonable, Kim Jinyong had a notorious reputation.

“Why…why?”

Suhyuk decided to start with explaining himself first.

“I…I think there is a possibility this isn’t cancer, sir.”

“Not cancer? Hey, does that make sense? Why did she lose 22 lbs for no reason over a month? You’re a newbie doctor, so you don’t know what you’re talking about.” Hwang Sunwoo laughed incredulously at Suhyuk’s words.

He seemed to be quite pleased with himself. While he wasn’t sure about other diseases, he was confident that his diagnosis for this case was correct.

‘Indeed, I’m already in my second year.’

Parrot disease or Weil’s syndrome…he had been nervous hearing these unfamiliar terms being thrown around.

‘Then let me, your humble second-year resident, teach you something.’

Hwang Sunwoo confidently tapped on the monitor as he pointed at the mass visible on the CT scan.

“Look here. Do you see how jagged the margin is right here? This is characteristic of cancer.”

“I’m not sure what you mean by ‘jagged’, but it doesn’t show any characteristics unique to cancer.”

Contrary to Hwang Sunwoo’s intention, Suhyuk heard Baruda’s voice overlapping with his own.

“And look here. See those clumps? That indicates a malignant tumor.”

[Based on this CT scan, there is no sign of pneumonia. If it was adenocarcinoma, which is a type of colorectal cancer, there should be signs of pneumonia.]

Moreover, Baruda refuted each statement made by Dr. Hwang. It added its own convincing opinion to the mix. Honestly, Suhyuk found Baruda more trustworthy than Hwang Sunwoo.

“In addition, he lost weight. How can you lose 22 lbs in one month if it isn’t due to cancer?”

[Congratulations, Suhyuk. I’ve just discovered someone more ignorant than yourself. You are denying numerous cases that have been published until now.]

Now Baruda was openly mocking him. What would happen if others heard this voice?

Suhyuk didn’t want to imagine such a scenario.

However, as Suhyuk listened to Baruda, he became increasingly convinced that it wasn’t cancer.

‘Then give me valid reasons why it isn’t cancer.’

[The absence of pneumonia is the biggest evidence. The rest resembles colorectal cancer quite closely.]

‘Is that all you have as proof?’

[Yes, but this one piece of evidence is very reliable.]

‘Hmm.’

Suhyuk couldn’t see Baruda’s expression, but he felt certain that if Baruda had a face, it would be extremely confident right now. It sounded so sure of itself.

[There is only 0.1 percent chance that it could be cancer.]

With such high confidence shown by these numbers, Suhyuk couldn’t doubt Baruda’s diagnosis.

“But…there is no sign of pneumonia. Not only does the patient not show any symptoms, there is nothing visible on the scan.”

“Well…” Hwang Sunwoo was about to say, “It can happen,” when she stopped herself.

‘Is it really possible? Could this be true?’

He didn’t know much about colorectal cancer due to his lack of studies. He was angry at himself for meddling with things he knew nothing about. If he were a normal person, he would have regretted wasting his life up until now. Unfortunately, Hwang Sunwoo had a twisted personality.

“Then…then what do you think? If it isn’t cancer, then what is it?”

Of course, Suhyuk wasn’t sure either. He had only taken Hwang Sunwoo’s side based on Baruda’s opinion. Suhyuk felt relieved that they hadn’t been wrong, and he asked Baruda:

‘What do you think it might be?’

[I need more time as my calculations are slowing down, but I still believe it is some type of infectious disease.]

‘Infection…’

Apart from cancer, infections were one of the main causes for such masses forming within the colon.

“It is an infectious disease.”

When Suhyuk relayed this information, Hwang Sunwoo shook his head again as expected.

“He works at Infectious Diseases Internal Medicine, so he just spouts infection nonsense. Does it make sense to you?”

Suhyuk could detect the mocking tone, but he didn’t let it bother him. No, he couldn’t afford to be bothered by her attitude because Baruda continued speaking. His words held much more value than anything Hwang Sunwoo had said, so Suhyuk focused on listening to Baruda’s explanation.

[Considering the situation in Korea, tuberculosis should be our first consideration.]

‘Tuberculosis… Hmm.’

It was plausible. Tuberculosis couldn’t be ruled out entirely since it remained prevalent in South Korea.

However, tuberculosis wasn’t limited to attacking only the lungs. If it attacked the colon, similar symptoms could be seen.

[Yet, tuberculosis doesn’t invade the abdominal wall like this. This is characteristic of cancer.]

‘What the fuck! Didn’t you just say that it isn’t cancer?’

[I was showing my thought process, so don’t worry about it.]

‘I’m already in trouble for contradicting a second year resident, and now you’re telling me not to worry about it?’

[Please stop interrupting me. I’m already struggling due to your slow connection.]

‘Haah…’

Despite Suhyuk’s sighs, Baruda continued his explanation.

[There are also necrotic lesions present, and there are various levels of enhancement from the contrast dye.]

‘Isn’t that characteristic of cancer?’

[It seems our study sessions were fruitful.]

‘This fucking bastard…’

When Baruda stated it wasn’t cancer, he sounded so confident. However, when Suhyuk asked for another diagnosis, all Baruda could do was talk about characteristics of cancer. Hwang Sunwoo’s glare felt like she wanted to devour him alive, and Suhyuk couldn’t help but feel frustrated. He didn’t know if Baruda sensed his frustration or not.

Baruda continued, [Please look at the patient’s pelvic area.]

‘Pelvic area…?’

It seemed unrelated to her symptoms, but as he looked down, he noticed something foreign within the uterus.

[It is an intrauterine device.]

‘An IUD. What does this have to do with anything?’

[Since you still haven’t figured it out despite seeing this much, you have a long way to go.]

Baruda’s tone was overflowing with confidence.

‘What is he talking about?’

[The CT scan shows characteristics similar to cancer, but it isn’t cancer. It’s an infectious disease linked to the IUD. By now, shouldn’t you know the answer? Are you carrying that brain on your shoulders just for decoration?]

‘This…’

Suhyuk initially bristled at Baruda’s taunt but then his mouth dropped open. Suddenly, a diagnosis flashed through his mind like lightning.

“Oh.”