PET scan results

Hello Karen,

Thanks for getting in touch. My name is Megan, I’m one of the Cancer Information Nurses on the Macmillan Support Line.

I am sorry to hear about these latest developments and do wish you and your wife well during this time.

I wonder if it would be worth speaking with another GP or the Practice Manager at your GP surgery if they have one appointed.

It is true that whoever orders a test is responsible for acting on the outcomes of it, and so it is right that you have tried to contact the surgeon for them to refer her on to what will most likely be a cardiologist.

I encourage you to continue trying to contact the colorectal nurse again to see how this has been “chased” and you may also wish to speak with the hospital PALS team if you are still struggling to get communication from the hospital team.

Often the secretary will have an email address as well as a telephone number, you may wish to search for the consultant’s secretary details online or try contacting the hospital switchboard to see if they have an email address recorded or any other contact numbers for the colorectal team.

I wonder if your wife has any known heart conditions such as high blood pressure for example, or a known family history of heart disease. British Heart Foundation does have advice on what is calcification of the arteries, and how can I treat it? that I hope you will find useful.

In the immediate to gain further understanding of her own heart health she might want to start doing regular blood pressure monitoring at home. If these readings are outside of normal parameters, she can then present these to the GP for their action.

Your local pharmacy may be able to help with blood pressure and cholesterol monitoring also.

Furthermore, I hope this information from British Heart Foundation about the support they offer is useful for you both during this time. As well as offering emotional support, they do have advice on living a healthier lifestyle and cardiac rehab at home that she might want to try safe in the knowledge this has been produced by experts in the field.

It is most important that if she is to have any of the following symptoms she is to seek urgent medical help immediately.  

I hope this information is useful. Please don’t hesitate to get back in contact by email, webchat or phone, if you need further information or support.

The Macmillan Support Line offers practical, clinical, financial and emotional support. You can call us free from landlines and from most mobile phone networks on 0808 808 00 00, 7 days a week, 8am – 8pm.

Best wishes, Megan

Cancer Information Nurse Specialist 

Ref MD/AON

Thank you so much for your quick response. I feel a bit calmer about it all now. She has had high blood pressure for many years, for which she takes ramipril, and has been taking statins for the last  three years as her cholesterol was borderline high. She tries to keep active and watch her diet and has annual blood pressure and cholesterol checks so we had presumed it was all under control. Presumably more in-depth investigations are now needed. I don’t expect much will happen now with it being almost the weekend so will try to stand down and relax and start again on Monday. If we don’t hear anything on Monday I will email the consultants secretary as you suggest so it is really helpful to know that that is the correct course of action.

Thanks once again.