1141: Two Years

2012-12-01T09:59:12Z

67.164.114.245:

{{comic
| number = 1141
| date = November 30, 2012
| title = Two Years
| image = two years.png
| imagesize =
| titletext = She won the first half of all our chemo Scrabble games, but then her IV drugs started kicking in and I *dominated*.
}}

== Explanation ==

This comic marks the second year of [[Randall Munroe]]'s wife's battle with cancer, and appears to depict actual events from those two years. Randall's wife's cancer has been the subject of [[:Category:Cancer|several previous comics]].

Some explanations:
* Panel 1: Randall's wife-to-be (at that point) receives a diagnosis over the phone as Randall sits by her side supportively.
* Panel 2: Undergoing IV (intravenous) {{w|chemotherapy}}. Because of the hair loss that results from chemotherapy, many patients opt to shave their heads when they undergo chemotherapy. Her hair grows back over the course of the following panels.
* Panel 3: The two of them spending time alone together.
* Panel 4: The couple are waiting for the results of a scan. A phone is on the middle of the table that they are waiting to ring.
* Panel 5: More chemotherapy. The couple are playing {{w|Scrabble}}, in which players use letter tiles to spell words in a cross-word style. She uses the fact that she has cancer as leverage to get Randall to ignore the fact that the word she has played (zarg) is not a real word.
* Panel 6: Someone suggests they come for a visit next year, but all they can think about are the words "next year", indicating that they know the future is very much in doubt.
* Panel 7: They get married.
* Panel 8: The couple watching humpback whales.
* Panel 9: Randall is paraphrasing a line from the song "{{w|Still Alive}}" ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_S0PGu-cH4 video]) from the video game ''{{w|Portal}}'' (''"I'm doing science and I'm still alive"'').
* Panel 11: Randall and his wife have dinner to celebrate the fact that she has made it two years since her {{w|biopsy}}.
The title text is referring to a possible side-effect of chemotherapy drugs, the {{w|Chemotherapy#Neurological adverse effects|inability to concentrate}}.

==Transcript==
:[Randall and his wife sitting on a bed and on the phone with a nurse.]
:Randall's wife: oh god

:[Randall and his wife sitting at their laptops. Randall's wife is hooked up to a dialysis machine and her hair is shaved.]
:Machine: ...BEEEP...BEEEP...BEEEP...

:[Randall and his wife rowing. His wife is wearing a beanie.]

:[Randall and his wife sitting at a table. A clock is mounted behind them.]
:Randall's wife: How long can it take to read a scan!?

:[Randall and his wife playing scrabble.]
:Randall: "Zarg" isn't a word.
:Randall's wife: But ''Caaancer''.
:Randall: ...Ok, fine.

:[Randall and his wife talking to a friend. A large thought bubble is above their heads.]
:Friend: So next year you should come visit us up in the mountain - [cut off by thought bubble]
:Randall and wife: "Next year"

:[Randall and his wife getting married. A heart is above their heads. His wife's hair is growing back.]

:[Randall and his wife watching a whale jump out of the water.]

:[Randall watching his wife use a laptop.]
:Randall: Hey-
:Randall: You're doing science,
:Randall: And you're still alive.
:Randall's wife: Yeah!

:[Randall and his wife under a tree.]
:Randall: It's only been two years?
:Randall's wife: They were big years.

:[Randall and his wife at a fancy restaurant being served.]
:Waiter: Happy... Anniversary?
:Randall's wife: Biopsy-versary!
:Waiter: ...eww.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Randall Munroe]]
[[Category:Romance]]
[[Category:Cancer]]

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1141: Two Years