Summary

Still speaking in present-tense, Bella tells the audience that her oncologist gives her bad news – “the tumors are rampant” (57). He describes her chances of survival at around twenty percent. She tries to talk him into a higher number, but does not succeed. He tries to start her on a chemotherapy treatment the next day. She arrives at the clinic where she is taken to a room where she is allowed to choose her own curtained-off area with a heavily padded recliner. She describes herself as feeling “as if she’s accepting some sort of ergonomic, living-room-quality death sentence” (58). When a nurse asks her if someone is coming to get her after her treatment, she says she is not. The nurse tells her that in the future, she should have someone come to get her, as the effects of the chemotherapy can impair judgment. She...