March, 2020 - Ronny Allan - Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer

26Mar 2020 by Ronny Allan 8 Comments

My Self Isolation Diary – COVID-19 2020

COVID-19 reminds me of some of the issues with Neuroendocrine Cancer e.g. is this a normal day to day cold/flu/chest issue or is it COVID-19? At least COVID-19 is the number one awareness topic in the universe, so people are very very aware. Just as well because it has the potential to kill hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of people. It's only right that cancer patients take strict precautions because they should all at least be considered as an 'at risk' category, and many will be on their national 'most vulnerable' lists. So, when I started to cough and wheeze on Tuesday 17th March 2020, I was clearly concerned. On 19th March, I started to record my self isolation with daily posts on Facebook containing a mix of humour, happy…

21Mar 2020 by Ronny Allan 2 Comments

COVID-19 and Cancer Treatment and Surveillance

Patient Advocacy, Treatment

This post was generated at the height of the pandemic and is not medical advice, moreover, it should not be considered up to date. For the latest information for your cancer in regard COVID RISKS and VACCINES, please speak directly to your specialist doctor or follow your national health organisation’s guidance. NEW CONTENT added 14th June 2020.For US patients - see the recently produced NANETS guidelines which provides guidance on the following:How is treatment for patients with NET/NECs likely to change during the COVID-19 outbreak?What should providers do to prepare their clinic for patients?Should octreotide or lanreotide be delayed or stopped in NET?Surgery: Can/should surgery be canceled or delayed?Liver-directed therapy: Should liver embolization be performed? Is one modality preferable to another in the context of the COVID-19 outbreak?Lutetium Lu177 DOTATATE…

13Mar 2020 by Ronny Allan 1 Comment

Why Coronavirus Anxiety is Hard to Control – a Neuroendocrine Cancer patient perspective

Patient Advocacy, Survivorship

OPINION. I guess many people are feeling pretty scared right now. Add age, a chronic disease, cancer, a lung illness or any condition that has a level of immunosuppression, and it seems to become even more scarier when you read the news. I think the 'not knowing' how this crisis is going to pan out has made the situation quite surreal. We seem to have gone from a fairly routine day to day living, thinking coronavirus is something that happens in another faraway country and then BANG, it's on our doorstep. I don't know about you but I would hate to have survived metastatic Cancer for the last 10 years only be taken out by a stupid tiny virus because I forgot to wash my hands. Thus why I intend…

09Mar 2020 by Ronny Allan 5 Comments

Coronavirus 19 (COVID-19): risks for cancer patients

Patient Advocacy, Survivorship

This post was generated at the height of the pandemic and is not medical advice, moreover, it should not be considered up to date. For the latest information for your cancer in regard COVID RISKS and VACCINES, please speak directly to your specialist doctor or follow your national health organisation’s guidance.UPDATED 22 Apr 2020 - COVID-19 and MEN patients. See article 7 below.UPDATED 5 Apr 2020 - excellent video meeting between Elyse from NET Research Foundation and Dr Mark Lewis. Dr Lewis is an Oncologist and also a NET patient so he speaks with both aspects in mind. See article 6 below.UPDATED 28 Mar 2020 - see two links from Neuroendocrine Cancer UK (formerly NET Patient Foundation). First is a general summary of the effects of treatment in regard risk,…

02Mar 2020 by Ronny Allan No Comments

Neuroendocrine Cancer Nutrition Series Part 6 – featuring the 2020 video series by Tara Whyand RD

Diet and Nutrition

Nutrition is an important subject for many cancers but it is particularly important for Neuroendocrine Cancer. In the previous parts of this series I focused on the following:Article 1 – Vitamin and Mineral Challenges. This was co-authored by Tara Whyand, UK’s most experienced NET Specialist Dietitian. This blog provides a list of vitamins and minerals which NET Cancer patients are at risk for deficiencies, together with some of the symptoms which might be displayed in a deficiency scenario.Article 2 – Malabsorption. Overlapping slightly into Part 1, this covers the main side effects of certain NET surgical procedures and other mainstream treatments. Input from Tara Whyand.Article 3 – ‘Gut Health’. This followed the first two blogs looking specifically at the issues caused by small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) as a consequence of cancer treatment. Also discusses probiotics. Input…