Chapter 19: This is a bit difficult, isn't it? (3)

At that moment, Professor Jo Tae-jin of the Hematology-Oncology Department was attending a junior staff dinner party, which was essentially a gathering for associate professors in the internal medicine department.

They might be fresh professors now, but they were the talents who would lead the hospital in the future, so the hospital supported this gathering.

Thanks to this, the professors were drinking without worrying about money.

Of course, most of them were restraining themselves because of their work the next day.

"Hey... that genius first-year you always brag about? How is he?"

Among them, Professor Seo Hyo-seok of the Endocrinology Department, who had no intention of restraining himself, approached Professor Jo Tae-jin.

Every time he spoke, the unfiltered smell of alcohol wafted over, making it quite unpleasant.

Although Professor Jo Tae-jin would likely become an associate professor before Professor Seo Hyo-seok due to the lack of publications, he had an advantage in terms of seniority.

After all, Professor Seo Hyo-seok was a year ahead of Professor Jo Tae-jin.

So, Jo Tae-jin responded as politely as possible.

"It's his first time here today, so I don't know much yet."

"Really? Oh, Team Leader Shin keeps talking about him lately. I'm starting to get tired of hearing about him."

"Didn't you see him present? He was quite impressive then."

"Hey, don't you remember how I got completely trashed by An Guk-tae when I was a fellow? I haven't attended a presentation since then, unless it's my case."

Seo Hyo-seok said this with a rather proud tone.

"Oh... I see."

That must have been a memorable moment.

Professor Jo Tae-jin nodded, recalling the past.

'Even if it wasn't Professor An Guk-tae, I probably would have been trashed anyway.'

Seeing such a disastrous presentation was indeed a rare occurrence.

Back then, no one would have imagined that Seo Hyo-seok could become a professor.

But who would have thought that Seo Hyo-seok was the son of the executive vice president of "Taehwa Life"?

Although the resentment over the typical parachuted appointment was high, the opinion of Taehwa Life, the party providing the funds, was absolute.

Buzz.

As he was trying to shake off this unpleasant memory, the phone on the table rang.

"15...03?"

Without asking for permission, Seo Hyo-seok picked up Professor Jo's phone.

1503.

It was the third phone number in the 15th floor ward.

In other words, it was a call from the hospital, and it needed to be answered.

"You have a call."

Seo Hyo-seok handed the phone to Jo Tae-jin with a sour expression, having confirmed that the number was from the hospital.

He almost threw it, but Jo Tae-jin, who had barely drunk any alcohol, managed to catch it.

"That's strange. Most patients are doing fine, right?"

He tilted his head in confusion.

If it were an emergency room patient, the call should have come to the chief's number, not the ward phone.

Then he suddenly remembered that he had told Lee Su-hyuk to notify him directly.

'Ah, is it my shift today?'

Once he realized this, he felt a bit amused.

He thought that a chief's notification should always be professional, so he usually scolded them.

But for a first-year's call, he could allow a bit of a show.

"Hematology-Oncology, Jo Tae-jin speaking."

He answered the phone with a somewhat relaxed expression.

For Seo Hyo-seok, who hated being bothered by any call, this was an incomprehensible reaction.

'Is he crazy?'

Looking at Jo Tae-jin with this expression, a voice came from the other end of the line, so loud that it could be described as noisy.

"Yes, Professor! This is first-year Lee Su-hyuk! I'm calling to notify you about an emergency room patient!"

"Okay. I'm with other people, so please be a bit quiet."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"There's no need to apologize. So, what's the patient's condition?"

The sight of a first-year being so disciplined always made a professor feel satisfied.

It was a pleasant feeling to know that someone genuinely feared you.

"Yes, Professor. The patient is Park Kyung-won, a 53-year-old male with stage 2 nasopharyngeal cancer. He was admitted three months ago for chemotherapy and radiation therapy under your care. Today, he came to the emergency room with symptoms of altered consciousness and quadriplegia."

"Huh? Park Kyung-won...?"

"Yes. He last saw you in the outpatient clinic a month ago. He also visited the ENT clinic that day, and the endoscopy performed there showed no significant findings."

"Hmm..."

Jo Tae-jin nodded, trying to recall the patient named Park Kyung-won.

It wasn't easy to remember just from the name and the outpatient visit.

"Does he have brain metastasis?"

Instead, he thought of the most common possibility.

"I initially suspected that and ordered an MRI, but there were no lesions in the brain. I also confirmed this with the neurology on-call."

Su-hyuk read the neurology notes, which were quite long but summarized to say there were no abnormalities.

"Is that so? Then what is it?"

"During the MRI, we expanded the examination range to include the neck and nasopharynx."

"Oh, good job. So?"

"Can I send you a picture? It would be better to explain while you look at it."

'That's bold.'

Tae-jin thought and agreed.

In the 5G era, the picture arrived instantly.

The first image was from an MRI taken about a month and a half ago.

It was the same image he had seen in the outpatient clinic a month ago, and as a hematology-oncology professor, Jo Tae-jin could immediately identify the patient.

'Ah, this patient. That's strange... He was doing well, wasn't he?'

When a patient responds well to chemotherapy or radiation therapy, they say the treatment is effective.

This patient was one of those who responded very well to treatment.

Shiver.

Then, the MRI image taken today was sent.

It showed a drastic change, making it hard to believe it was the same person.

'Recurrence...?'

The destructive appearance, wreaking havoc on the surrounding structures, and even breaking into the spinal cord, was a clear sign of cancer.

"Where... where is the patient now?"

Nasopharyngeal cancer causing quadriplegia was an extremely rare case.

Professor Jo Tae-jin, who had forgotten he was at a dinner party, shouted loudly.

It was so loud that it was hard to believe it was the same person who had asked Su-hyuk to be quiet earlier.

"In the emergency room, Professor."

"Wait a moment. I'm right in front of the hospital, so I'll come right away."

"Ah... Yes, Professor."

Su-hyuk, who still had a lot to notify, was a bit disappointed but couldn't stop the professor from coming.

"I'll be there in 5 minutes. Has the MRI just been done?"

"Yes. The blood test results are only CBC so far. The white blood cell count is..."

"Enough. Book a CT scan and prepare the admission papers for me."

"Yes, Professor."

Su-hyuk wanted to mention that the high white blood cell count suggested inflammation but was cut off.

It took about 5 minutes for Su-hyuk to speak to Professor Jo Tae-jin again.

The dinner party was right in front of the hospital, supported by the hospital.

"Lee Su-hyuk, where is the patient?"

"Yes, he's right there."

"Lead the way."

"Yes, Professor."

"This is strange. He was fine in the outpatient clinic..."

Professor Jo Tae-jin had a reason for rushing over.

He was worried he might have missed something.

That this patient had ended up like this.

As a doctor, he felt a heavy sense of responsibility.

But more than that, he was concerned about the impact on his promising future.

'Something... somehow...'

That's why his usually sharp mind wasn't working well.

'Quadriplegia... quadriplegia...'

If the symptoms were caused by recurrent cancer, radiation therapy needed to be started quickly to reduce the size of the tumor and alleviate the symptoms.

Even if a curative treatment for the recurrent cancer was not possible, the patient's quadriplegia couldn't be left untreated for too long.

As they walked briskly, Su-hyuk spoke very cautiously.

"Professor."

"Hmm? Can't it wait?"

"I haven't told you the suspected diagnosis yet."

"What? It's a recurrence! What else could it be here!"

"..."

Seeing Professor Jo Tae-jin shouting right in front of him, Su-hyuk wondered if he should speak or not.

[Professor Jo Tae-jin is not in his right mind. The patient's condition could worsen significantly.]

But hearing Baruda's usual calm tone gave him some confidence.

Moreover, Su-hyuk had not called Professor Jo Tae-jin on a whim.

He had almost 100% confidence.

He was sure he wouldn't be wrong.

"Professor, the patient's quadriplegia is changing continuously, depending on the patient's position or time. It's not a gradual onset but a sudden symptom, which is why we suspected a brain lesion."

He spoke rapidly, almost like a machine gun.

Professor Jo Tae-jin, who hadn't heard such a rapid speech in a long time, listened silently, surprised by the changing quadriplegia.

"If the lesion near the nasopharynx were cancer, it wouldn't change. Cancer destroys tissue, it doesn't just press on it."

"So... it's not cancer?"

As he listened, a plausible argument emerged.

Cancer, as Su-hyuk said, destroys surrounding tissues, not just presses on them.

"Right."

"Hmm."

Realizing that it might not be cancer, Professor Jo Tae-jin finally stopped walking.

Meanwhile, Su-hyuk continued speaking, determined to persuade Professor Jo Tae-jin.

"There are many conditions that can look messy on imaging but are not cancer. However, they can be differentiated. It's unlikely that an infection suddenly appeared."

"Right... That's a leap. So, what do you suspect?"

"I... suspect radiation necrosis."