It seems that I have an unusually high level of potassium in my system. That was the weird thing the emergency doctor noticed on Monday, and the reason he ordered a second blood test. Which (I found out today) came back the same. Because it’s an isolated thing Ricardo says it’s hard to determine the cause; it’s not part of a pattern of symptoms or test results. He said it was also possible that the next blood test will come back normal, but he suggested that when I see Dr Ana on the 17th that I mention this and have her set up an appointment with a cardiologist. Because too much potassium can cause a heart attack! Sheesh. It’s always something…

But the good news is … well, a few things. First of all, Ricardo agrees that having another PET scan in six months is both reasonable and correct in terms of protocol. And unlike Dr Ana, he believes that time is working in my favour and has in fact changed my original prognosis. That the longer I stay NED, the better chance of long-term survival. He also reminded me that he wasn’t the one who told me I had a 50/50 chance of surviving five years, since he never thought that this was the case. And when I asked about the peritoneum mets, he said that because the inflammation in that area has continued to diminish it’s likely the original lesions weren’t malignant. With regards to the two liver metastasis episodes, again, the fact that they were small and operable is also in my favour. So that’s okay then, in terms of the whole cancer thing. I am content to have another PET in six months and forget all about cancer for the time being.

Shame about the potassium thing though, as it will mean at least a few extra trips to the hospital between now and January. But it may turn out to be nothing important, especially if the next blood test comes back normal. Turns out the regular blood work I’ve been having for cancer didn’t include testing my potassium levels – the last one Ricardo could find was from November 2008, which was normal. But Ricardo said that chemo is very hard on the heart, so best to get it checked out. And as he was fine about me waiting until the 17th then I’m not going to worry about it. Just one more thing to do…

Oh, and after my chat with Ricardo I stopped by to visit Pepe after his cancer op on Tuesday. He’s looking good. The lung tumour was removed without incident, but they couldn’t touch the one in his throat as it was too close to a vein. So we are now waiting to hear from the oncologist who is back from vacation on Monday. They are talking about radiation treatment … I don’t know. Everything is very sketchy at this point. But at least I could help out a bit with a few post-op questions and offer a bit of advice. Might pop over again with María Paz at the weekend. I’m not afraid of hospitals when I’m not the one having things done.

And so, life is good.
I’ve had an excellent week – how about you?