[Verse 1] Night shift bell and a patient can't feel his toes, Numbness creeping where the spinal cord narrows and grows. Don't wait for the scan to confirm what you dread, Push dexamethasone first, steroids straight ahead. Patchell proved it back in two-thousand-five, Scalpel then beam keeps the legs alive. Surgery plus radiation, that's the winning pair, Radiation alone left more wheelchairs there. [Chorus] Cord, cava, calcium, lysis, gut, Five alarms ringing, slam the panic shut. Steroids, stents, fluids, rasburicase too, Know the order or the patient's through. Cord, cava, calcium, lysis, gut, Learn the drill before the door gets shut. [Verse 2] Face swells up, neck veins stand like rope, Superior vena cava's choked, that's the scope. Lung cancer's the usual, lymphoma's the twist, Grab a biopsy first — don't let it get missed. Steroids before tissue can blur the whole frame, Lymphoma shrinks fast and hides its own name. Open that highway with a stent made of wire, Tissue diagnosis first, then put out the fire. [Verse 3] Bones leaching calcium, the labs running high, Squamous cells whisper a hormone-like lie. PTHrP's the puppeteer pulling the string, Confusion and thirst are the signs that it'll bring. Flood them with fluids, that's step number one, Bisphosphonates, denosumab, calcitonin, Slow then fast then faster again, Three drugs in order to flatten the strain. [Verse 4] Chemo kills cells and the cells spill their guts, Potassium's up and the phosphate's in ruts. Uric acid piles, calcium drops below, Kidneys get clogged where the crystals all flow. Hydrate ahead of time, allopurinol too, Stops the uric acid before it accrues. Already too high? Rasburicase clears the lane, Breaks down the acid, spares the kidney the strain. [Verse 5] Belly distended, the bowel's lost its way, Obstruction or bleeding or a hole gives way. Neutropenic gut goes by typhlitis' name, Hands off the knife unless perforation's the game. Watch it, rest the bowel, let antibiotics work, Only grab steel if the wall starts to break. Know which belly needs the operating light, And which one just needs you to sit tight. [Chorus] Cord, cava, calcium, lysis, gut, Five alarms ringing, slam the panic shut. Steroids, stents, fluids, rasburicase too, Know the order or the patient's through. Cord, cava, calcium, lysis, gut, Learn the drill before the door gets shut. [Bridge] Every emergency wears a disguise, A number on a chart, a look in the eyes. Treat the body first, chase the tumor type after, Order of operations outruns the disaster. [Outro] Cord, cava, calcium, lysis, gut, Say it in your sleep till the panic shuts. Five alarms, five answers, memorize the cue, That's what a surgeon carries cancer through.
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