31 Oct 2025
By Ronny Allan
0 Comments
Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated….. the pitfalls of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated….. the pitfalls of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Humour
Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated….. the pitfalls of Artificial Intelligence (AI) I recently discovered — to my great amusement - that someone referred to me as “the late Ronny Allan.” While I appreciate the dramatic flair, I’d like to reassure everyone that I’m still very much alive, caffeinated, and actively moderating, educating, and occasionally ranting about neuroendocrine cancer.  To be fair, I do spend a lot of time digging through esoteric subjects such as pathology reports and clinical trial data, so perhaps someone mistook my silence for eternal rest. Or maybe they just assumed that anyone who’s…
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26 Apr 2025
By Ronny Allan
6 Comments
Catch up on Ronny Allan’s Blog

Catch up on Ronny Allan’s Blog

Awareness, Clinical Trials and Research, Diet and Nutrition, Humour, Inspiration, Latest ENETS Guidelines, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Newsletters, Patient Advocacy, Ronny Allan's "The Trouble with the NET Series", Spotlight on NENs - Types Series, Survivorship, The NET Effect Series, Travel with Ronny, Treatment
You guys lead busy lives but the aim of this article is to help you catch up. Below are the most read posts in the last 7 days.  Click on anything that takes your fancy.  Many thanks.  To read any article, just click on the title/picture below Latest from Instagram https://www.instagram.com/neuroendocrine.cancer.ronny/ Select of category of posts you'd like to see Disclaimer I am not a doctor or any form of medical professional, practitioner or counsellor. None of the information on my website, or linked to my website(s), or conveyed by me on any social media or presentation, should be interpreted as…
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14 Feb 2025
By Ronny Allan
0 Comments
Ronny Allan’s ‘PoNETry’ – An Ode to Lanreotide

Ronny Allan’s ‘PoNETry’ – An Ode to Lanreotide

Humour, Inspiration, Survivorship, Treatment, , , ,
  Ronny Allan's 'PoNETry' © series can be shared with poetry credit to: RonnyAllan.NET Read about my experience with Lanreotide - click here Thanks for reading Ronny     I also have PoNETry on Invisible Illness - click here Click here and answer all questions to join my private Facebook group   Most recent posts - click to read    
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18 Jan 2025
By Ronny Allan
0 Comments
Ronny Allan – Every picture tells a story

Ronny Allan – Every picture tells a story

Awareness, Clinical Trials and Research, Diet and Nutrition, Humour, Inspiration, Latest ENETS Guidelines, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Newsletters, Patient Advocacy, Ronny Allan's "The Trouble with the NET Series", Spotlight on NENs - Types Series, Survivorship, The NET Effect Series, Travel with Ronny, Treatment, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
I always try to use graphics for a number of pictures, I admit mainly to catch people's attention but also because sometimes a picture on its own tells a story or at least provides a great introduction to one. If the picture catches your eye, clicking on will take you to the text.  This post will auto update as new blogs are published. thanks for reading and sharing! Scroll, point, click, read, share! Disclaimer I am not a doctor or any form of medical professional, practitioner or counsellor. None of the information on my website, or linked to my website(s),…
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07 Jul 2024
By Ronny Allan
7 Comments
Please flush after use!

Please flush after use!

Awareness, Diet and Nutrition, Humour, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Patient Advocacy, Survivorship, , , , , , , , ,
Early in my journey, I was in a public toilet, the sign said "Please flush after use".  I tried my hardest but my face would not turn red.  I then clicked what the sign meant!  OK, that did not happen but it does make for a good intro to the blog title. Over the years, I've read so many stories and answered so many questions about the quite natural act of using a toilet (.....some more repeatable than others).  I think if there were a 'Bachelor of Science degree in Toiletry', I might pass with First Class Honours. I jest, clearly,…
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08 May 2024
By Ronny Allan
1 Comment
Do you suffer from NET Brain?

Do you suffer from NET Brain?

Awareness, Humour
A satirical look at the acronym or abbreviation "NET".   I wrote this after I noticed many non-NET people reading my blogs.  The acronym 'NET' (NeuroEndocrine Tumour) can be advantageous to NET advocates and organisations because it occasionally attracts readership from outside the Cancer community when links are accidentally found by 'surfers'.  NET just also happens to be a common truncation of the word 'Internet' or 'Network'.  The vast majority will realise the irrelevance (to them) and move on but 1 or 2 might just hang around and take a look.  Bingo - we have spread a little bit of awareness! However, these unintended awareness…
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04 May 2024
By Ronny Allan
3 Comments
“You’re from Dundee – you must like fighting”

“You’re from Dundee – you must like fighting”

Humour, Inspiration
Apparently all Scotsmen wear kilts, have ginger hair, eat nothing but deep fried Mars Bars and they like a good fight!Stereotyping is frequently used to wind people up and can on occasion be used in an irrational or insulting manner.  However, I believe one of those attributes is accurate.  I was once 'volunteered' for boxing because my home town was Dundee!   Read on...Dundee was put on the boxing map in the late fifties/early sixties due to the legendary Dick McTaggart who won a Gold and Bronze medal in two separate Olympic Games (for Great Britain). Many new boxing clubs sprang…
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29 Apr 2024
By Ronny Allan
6 Comments
Happy 10th birthday to my Blog Ronny Allan – Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer (RonnyAllan.NET)

Happy 10th birthday to my Blog Ronny Allan – Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer (RonnyAllan.NET)

Awareness, Humour, Inspiration, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Patient Advocacy,
On 29th April 2014, I release my first post entitled "What's it all about" i.e. why on earth am I writing a blog! It was simple in those days, I just wanted your money :-)  I was fundraising as many diagnosed cancer patients and their supporters frequently do. In my own case, I was fundraising for my local NET charity who were raising money to support NET patients in various ways.  Their latest challenge at that time was getting access to intraoperatrive radiotherapy machine (IORT), something that could help 'blast' small cells and tumours in places near to the 'operative…
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16 Apr 2024
By Ronny Allan
19 Comments
Colonoscopy Comedy

Colonoscopy Comedy

Humour, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, , , , ,
Last year I wrote a series of articles on the 'coping' side of cancer, one of which was about still being able to have a laugh. This was my way of saying no matter how tough life is, you need to stay positive and maintain your sense of humour. When I think back to some of the treatments I've had, I sometimes have a little laugh even although I wasn't laughing at the time! My favourite 'treatment laugh' is the 'suppository story' which occurred in hospital shortly after my first major surgery - it wasn't funny at the time, but…
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12 Apr 2024
By Ronny Allan
10 Comments
Chocolate – the NET effect

Chocolate – the NET effect

Diet and Nutrition, Humour, The NET Effect Series, , , , , , ,
I've always had a 'sweet tooth' and the softer the sweet the better - toffee, marshmallows, chocolate, jelly babies, jelly beans, fruit pastilles, fudge, liquorice allsorts, 'tablet' and macaroon bars (both from Scotland), are all on my list of favourites.  In terms of desserts, I love those too - ice cream, cheese cake, meringue, cake, sponge with custard, the list is endless. And of course a hot drink isn't complete without a biscuit (or three....). Don't get me wrong, I'm not stuffing my face with sweet stuff 24/7, however I do need my sugar 'fix' now and then. I'm not a…
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17 Nov 2023
By Ronny Allan
2 Comments
Laughter is the best medicine

Laughter is the best medicine

Humour
Laughter is important.  This is a remastered version of one of my early blog posts. It centred on a 'get-well' card I received recuperating in hospital after my first major surgery.  The person who sent it knew I had a sense of humour, and it did make me smile.  My surgeon's secretary came to visit me, and I invited her to check out my cards....... she fell about on the floor laughing!  That caused me to laugh (carefully!).   All the nurses looking after me had a good laugh too! How many times have you heard it said that laughter is the…
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07 Oct 2023
By Ronny Allan
3 Comments
Shrek and Princess Fiona

Shrek and Princess Fiona

Humour, Inspiration, Survivorship
I was looking through some old photographs and came across this one I thought you guys might like.  It's pre-diagnosis round 2008 (although I didn't know cancer was growing inside me). As you can see, despite being an ogre, Shrek is actually quite a handsome chap! Moreover, Princess Fiona is as you would expect, beautiful and radiant. There's a bit of a story behind this picture as Chris (Princess Fiona) was in fact not very well at the time. This picture was taken in Anaheim (LA) in Disneyland California in 2008. We were there with Chris's brother Gerry (mad ex…
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06 Oct 2023
By Ronny Allan
1 Comment
Just got (a) shot in the buttocks

Just got (a) shot in the buttocks

Humour, Inspiration, Patient Advocacy, Treatment, , , , ,
I love watching films and Tom Hanks is one of my favourite actors. He's played such a wide range of parts and I've found every single one of his films enjoyable. I think the first one I remember was 'Big' - a cracking family film for all ages. When I saw the large floor piano keyboard in Schwartz toy store in New York, I had to give it a go (video or photo to follow if I can find it!).  On the opposite side of the scale, he's also been in some quite gory films such as 'Saving Private Ryan'…
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03 Jan 2022
By Ronny Allan
0 Comments
Blog review and top 10 for 2021: RonnyAllan.NET

Blog review and top 10 for 2021: RonnyAllan.NET

Awareness, Clinical Trials and Research, Diet and Nutrition, General, Humour, Inspiration, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Patient Advocacy, Survivorship, Treatment
I should be happy with over a quarter of a million views in 2021 but I'm not!  Like 2020, my figures are down on previous years as the pandemic seems to have changed viewing habits, not to mention my own bandwidth during this period. I created my private Facebook group not that long before the pandemic started, and I think that has been playing a part as huge chunks of my time has been taken up on that special project.  I also changed the nature and the type of posts on my "Ronny Allan" Facebook page, which led to fewer…
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25 Jul 2021
By Ronny Allan
2 Comments
Neuroendocrine Cancer: 48 hours before diagnosis

Neuroendocrine Cancer: 48 hours before diagnosis

Humour, Inspiration, , , , ,
A week before my formal diagnosis, I had a liver biopsy (19th July 2010), and I repeat what I said in this post, for me it wasn't exactly a walk in the park. I had a mild anesthetic, I felt extremely uncomfortable throughout, and I was in pain. In fact, they did call in another nurse to help and her only job was to hold my hand in reassurance, (from what I remember).  Most patients report no issues with their liver biopsy.  I was sent home on 20th July with some painkillers, but that pain was gone within 24 hours.…
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01 Dec 2020
By Ronny Allan
15 Comments
2 Million!

2 Million!

Awareness, General, Humour, Inspiration, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Patient Advocacy, Survivorship,
Today, 27th October 2022, I can confirm the 2 million views milestone has been reached. I was totally astonished to have been able to accumulate a million views of my blog around the middle of June 2019 and in December 2020, a Christmas present of one and a half million!  Fast forward to November 2021 and it's one and three-quarters million.That is THANKS to you guys for reading and sharing. When I first set up this blog in Apr 2014, it was just to help spread awareness (and collect a few pennies) whilst I was walking the 84 miles of Hadrian's Wall…
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20 Oct 2018
By Ronny Allan
1 Comment
How to Talk to a Cancer Patient Without Being a Complete Twit

How to Talk to a Cancer Patient Without Being a Complete Twit

General, Humour, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Patient Advocacy
I enjoyed reading "8 rules on how to talk to a cancer patient" because I think much of it is written with 'tongue in cheek'.  Great title! In UK we might even spell the word 'twit' slightly differently (UK people will get it!). Some of the rules are directed at doctors and I'm sure some doctors will laugh (if you're a doctor and you didn't laugh, sorry). I think one or two are a bit harsh and could potentially backfire and at least one I partly disagree with.  Personally I try to balance my reactions to not come over as…
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08 May 2014
By Ronny Allan
3 Comments
What have the Romans ever done for us?

What have the Romans ever done for us?

Humour, Inspiration
"What have the Romans ever done for us?" Reviewed and updated 5th October 2021 .......... apart from better sanitation, and medicine, and education, and irrigation, and public health, and roads, and a freshwater system, and baths, and public order ....... 😊 (apologies to those not familiar with Monty Python stuff!) Well, they also left us the outstanding Hadrian's Wall which is the first topic of today's blog.  In January 2014, the oldest piece of paper in my 'in tray' was a newspaper article about the World Heritage Site of Hadrian's Wall - it was dated 28 Sep 2003 entitled 50…
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