THIS WEEK ON "BOSTON MED": MAN MEETS MORTALITY IN THE FORM OF COLON CANCER DIAGNOSIS

Adrenaline Powered Trauma Surgeon Deals with Open Wounds in Her Personal Life

Hospital Staff Treats Young Girls and Must Manage Her Frustrated Family

Tom Alden is a dashing retired fireman who still appears in middle age like "the indestructible American male" in the words of his surgeon. Only he's not. Tom blew off a colonoscopy and now pays the price with a colon cancer diagnosis. Coming to terms with his own mortality is tricky psychological terrain for this confident and supremely self-reliant man. His surgeon, David Berger, is as good as they come, but knows Tom's chances of survival will depend on how far the cancer has spread. Episode 7 of "Boston Med" airs THURSDAY, AUGUST 5 (10:00-11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. A trailer for this episode can be viewed here.

Amy Rezak is one of only a handful of female trauma surgeons at major hospitals. Gunshot wounds, car accidents, patients who are sometimes hopelessly maimed or injured are typical in Amy's line of work. An adrenaline junkie with a dark sense of humor, Amy has what the military refers to as "command presence" in her operating room. Her personal life is another matter. Still wounded by the break-up of an earlier relationship, Amy has what she calls "trust issues."

Caitlyn MacPhee is a four-year-old girl who is choppered to Children's Hospital in the middle of the night with bleeding on her brain. Her family switches between feeling grateful and angry at hospital staff as they try to cope with a situation that is beyond their control and medical comprehension.

Rookie surgical resident Andrew "Bardouche" ElBardissi returns in this episode to see if he can perform his first gall bladder removal. The stakes are high for both patient and doctor. Suffering from burnout, Andrew decides to chill in Cairo and takes a boat ride on the Nile.

Picking up where "Hopkins" left off, "Boston Med" travels to a city renowned for medical excellence and home to three superb American hospitals: Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Children's Hospital. Over four months, ABC cameras had unparalleled access to hospital staffs and patients. From operating rooms to end-of-life meetings, "Boston Med" explores the culture of doctors and nurses and the conversations that happen outside the patient's earshot. This unsparing look at the ups and downs of hospital care holds many surprises for viewers.

Terence Wrong is producer and executive producer. Rudy Bednar is senior executive producer. Sedika Mojadidi and Carl Hansen are supervising producers of "Boston Med."

For more information on Boston Med visit bostonmed.abcnews.com.