Chapter
17
The Backstreet Boys' next album was released at the end of October.
Soon after, they began touring. Brian had been feeling great and was looking
forward to the tour. He was also a little nervous, since he hadn't done a
concert since before he was diagnosed. The Millennium tour seemed to have
happened years ago, when really, it had barely been a year since it had
started.
Brian's doctors appointment had been scheduled for November 29.
Unfortunately, the boys had a tour that night in Chicago and wouldn't be
anywhere near Orlando, so Brian had to cancel and reschedule the appointment.
It was rescheduled for December 14, the day after one of their Orlando concerts.
When the day approached, Brian was a little nervous, but not nearly as
much as before. He had been feeling great and was confident that everything
would be fine once again. Leighanne went with him this time. Nick had wanted to
go to, but Brian didn't think he should after remembering what had happened the
last time when Nick had almost passed out after the bone marrow test. He made a
mental note not to have Leighanne come back with him for that test. He didn't
want a similar reaction from her.
The day at the hospital was once again long and boring. Dr. Benson ran
all the same tests on Brian as he had before, but Brian was used to them all by
now, for he had gone through them twice before. The bone marrow test was still
horrible, but Brian made it through it, reminding himself that it was the last
test and then he could leave. However, it was not that simple.
He met Leighanne in the waiting room, just like he had done with Nick
before, and they waited together for the nurse to come down to tell them Dr.
Benson was ready to talk to them.
But this time, when they finally got to Dr. Benson's office, he did not
smile at them. In fact, he did not look happy at all.
"What's wrong?" Brian asked, taking a seat. Leighanne sat
down beside him and took his hand. His skin felt cold and clammy.
"Well, we've got a problem," Dr. Benson began. Leighanne
tightened her grip on Brian's hand.
"What?" he asked, his voice barely audible.
"You have a tumor in your left lung," the doctor said grimly.
"Oh no," Leighanne gasped. Brian said nothing. Dr. Benson
took something off of his desk. It was an x-ray. He put it up on the
fluorescent screen on the wall behind him.
"Is that me?" Brian asked.
"Yes," Dr. Benson replied. "This is your chest x-ray.
This is your left lung," he said, pointing. "This dark circle right
here is the tumor," he continued, motioning to a small circle. "It's
not small enough to be operated on right now, but if we start you on some
radiation treatments, I think we can shrink it enough to be surgically removed."
***
