Volume II – Episode 93 Where: Melbourne, Australia When: 1 month and 3 days after E-Day, 4:52 pm The question hung in the air. "Michael," Emily had asked. "Did you have cancer?" My first instinct was to lie; to make up some bullshit story about how some doctor had prescribed me the wrong medication but I had gone anyway as some big joke. But what I did instead was tell her the truth. "I hope so," I said. "Otherwise they chopped off my teste and part of my colon for no reason whatsoever." "Michael..." "They found a tumor on my left testicle in 2000." "Do you know what kind?" "Semi...semi-something?" "Seminoma," Emily said. "What stage was it?" "Stage 1. They reckon I got it because the ball didn't drop when I was a kid." "You had an undescended testicle?" I nodded. "I don't remember the surgery, but I remember screaming at some nurse because I was in so much pain afterwards. And I remember waking up, looking down and seeing blood all over my balls. That's pretty scary for a kid." Emily nodded. "I bet!" "Anyway, they found a tumor on my left testicle on my 30th birthday, and I had surgery a couple of weeks later. I was too embarrassed to tell anybody about it, and I didn't want my family to worry, so I just told everyone I was going on holidays for a couple of weeks." Emily looked at me quizzically. "Why'd you do that? It's nothing to be embarrassed about." "I know," I said, looking down at my feet. "It's just...I don't know. I'm pretty much an open book about most things. But things like that...serious things...I just prefer to keep them to myself. I just know people would worry if I told them. And then they'd try to help, and then they'd feel bad, and then I'd feel bad. I dunno, I just don't like to be a burden." Emily shook her head slightly, then opened her mouth as if about to tell me I was for thinking that way, but I cut her off by continuing my story. "Anyway, a few years later - 2008, I think it was - I started having some trouble going to the toilet. I put up with it for a couple of months, hoping it would go away on its own, but of course it never did. I finally went to the doctor a few months later. He sent me off for some tests, and they found out I had stage 2A colon cancer." "Oh, shit." "It sure was. I had to take a month off work for that one. I took long service leave and told them I was just going to stay home playing computer games. I couldn't tell them I was going on holidays again...not in the era of Facebook. People expect to see photos when you go away these days." "So, again...you didn't tell anybody? What about your family? Your friends?" I shook my head. "They would have just worried." "Michael..." "I know." "Michael..." "I know. Anyway, the surgery went well, and then they put me on those Xeloda tablets and radiotherapy for about a month. God, I felt so sick. No throwing up, but almost constant diarrhoea for the first couple of weeks, and I was tired all of the time." "That's very common," Emily said. "Was the treatment successful? I assume you've been having regular follow-ups?" "Yep. I had a colonscopy a year later and that was all clear." "That's great news!" Emily said, clearly relieved. "It was," I agreed, momentarily debating whether or not to tell her the next part. "Until I started shitting blood again a couple of months ago. I went straight to the doctor this time. I didn't wait for it to go away on its own, like I used to do." "Good!" Emily said. "Was it a complication from the surgery? It can't have been another tumor. Not so soon after a negative colonoscopy." "That's what my oncologist said too. But just to be sure, he sent me off for all the usual scans and tests. All the usual things I'd already had time and time before. Got the results on the fifth of August - the day before everyone disappeared." "And?" [CONTINUED IN FIRST COMMENT BELOW]