Rachel (What Happens Next)

Rachel is a patient who had multiple health issues and who abused her husband as a side effect of her treatment.

History
Rachel had multiple health problems. She and her husband were in marriage counseling and she said that she worried that her health problems had stolen his youth, though he insisted that wasn't the case. Nick was asked how he relieves the stress caused with dealing with her illness. He admitted that sometimes he and Rachel fight and Sheldon asked why the thought of it made him so uncomfortable. Sheldon then witnessed Rachel slapping and then hitting Nick, who quickly subdued her and said she didn't meant to.

Sheldon went to Addison about it, who said she wasn't concerned about the abuse, which Sheldon said was resonant of rages that addicts have.

Sheldon visited Nick at home and said he had to report the abuse. Nick said he'd deny it if Sheldon said anything. Nick said that he could handle it.

Rachel came in and Addison examined her for possible causes for her rages. Her tests showed excess testosterone in her blood, which was caused by metastatic breast cancer. She'd had a mastectomy ten years prior, but leftover cells had caused the cancer to grow somewhere else. Addison said the only way to confirm was with surgery, which was risky for someone in her condition. Rachel said she wanted to do it for Nick.

Sheldon talked to Nick about what would happen going forward with Rachel and her treatment. Nick insisted that no matter what, he wouldn't leave Rachel because he loved her.

In surgery, Addison said the tumor was more invasive than she thought. She wasn't able to remove it all. Addison had to break the news to her that she was dying. Addison suggested testosterone-blocked agents, but said they aren't very effective. Sheldon then suggested hospice care, with people who are trained to deal with cases like hers. Nick objected, but Rachel said that she wanted to go into hospice care, saying it was the right thing. She wanted to take care of him for once.

Romantic
She's been married to Nick for 20 years. They met when he was just out of journalism school and working at the Times as a reporter. He covered a performance of Swan Lake. He saw her dance and was mesmerized.

Career
She was a ballerina. She met her husband when he was covering her performance in Swan Lake.