[ Cancer unfortunately still exists in the future that K's from, and it's one of the illnesses that immediately comes to mind as Alfie's describing what he had. Unlikely to be radiation poisoning, anyway, and he can't recall many other illnesses that might fit the bill. And cancer recurrence isn't uncommon, but— ]

Wouldn't wishing it away remove all of the cells that could potentially cause it to recur? [ Operating on the assumption that it was cancer or something like it. ] Unless... returning to your homeworld would undo that.

[ Because he isn't sure how permanently Zephyr's able to alter them. It's something he's thought a great deal about himself, in regard to asking Zephyr to grant him free will. ]