Exercise is Medicine

Exercise is Medicine

Inspiration, Survivorship, Travel with Ronny
Exercise is medicine.  Clearly I need to be careful with that statement given my aversion for cancer myths.  However, those who know me will totally get where I'm coming from, they will know that there is no way I am saying it cures cancer.  What I am saying is that the vast majority of doctors will tell you exercise is good for us but like me they must realise that it sometimes takes quite a bit of effort to get out there and do some! Apparently the older you get, the harder it becomes (I can confirm this is true!).  I did write about this in 2014 when I was doing an A to Z of terms way back then - notice the difference in quality of blog template!!! (Exercise…
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Getting back in the saddle

Getting back in the saddle

Inspiration, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Patient Advocacy, Survivorship, Travel with Ronny
The "getting back in the saddle" metaphorI thought back about a few periods since my diagnosis on 26th July 2010 about how I would 'get back in the saddle'. I suspect many cancer patients experience similar junction points in their own journeys.  After I was told about my metastatic Neuroendocrine Cancer, work was my anchor, something that I felt comfortable and in control, so in effect that was my metaphoric saddle in the early days. But as my treatment came into view, particularly major surgery, clearly new thoughts about how quickly I could get 'back into the saddle' were on my mind.  In fact, one of the first questions I asked my surgeon was "how much time off do I need before I can drive and also go to work". …
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RonnyAllan.NET – a review of 2022

RonnyAllan.NET – a review of 2022

Awareness, Clinical Trials and Research, Diet and Nutrition, Inspiration, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Newsletters, Patient Advocacy, Survivorship, Travel with Ronny, Treatment
ReviewIn 2022, my pet project (my blog) hit 2 million views in early November – that was a major boost.  It takes 3-4 years to get a million hits based on current performance.  To be honest, I’m still flabbergasted by reaching one million in 2018. It just kinda happened!  I am grateful for every single view. 2022 was a challenging year, mainly because the pandemic had some latent impact on my social media activity and also in terms of growth.  2020 and 2021 were slower than normal but 2022 has seen some pickup.  Some of it is due to less writing but much is due to a change in Facebook algorithms which affected many ‘pages’ reducing their scope (the more cynical might say it was done to drive advertising revenue but …….).   2022…
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Happy New Year from Ronny

Happy New Year from Ronny

Awareness, Inspiration, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Newsletters, Patient Advocacy, Survivorship, Travel with Ronny
Another year of survivalI normally only do a Facebook happy new year, but I wanted to make sure I reached everyone who follows my blog and other social media outlets.    All of the outlets above have kept my viewing figures high and although I only beat 2021 viewing figures by almost 10,000, it is an upward trend, so I'll take it!2022 was an amazing year in many respects. I continue to live well with Neuroendocrine Cancer, almost like a chronic disease.  I'm not foolish enough to think I don't need surveillance though.  That is ongoing, including regular contact when required with my primary and secondary care contacts.  The biggest problem I've had this year has been succumbing to "the other big C" (after avoiding it for 28 months!) and…
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A Christmas 2022 message from Ronny

A Christmas 2022 message from Ronny

Awareness, Inspiration, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Newsletters, Patient Advocacy, Survivorship, Travel with Ronny
Background to 2022I've only ever sent these on Facebook but this year, after some challenges, I wanted to make sure I covered anyone who supports my sites via one channel whether it is Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter or direct from a subscription to my website.  All of the outlets above have kept my viewing figures high, I guess I can't complain about a 2022 total of around 270,000 blog hits and hitting the milestone of 2 million blog hits in early November - that was a major boost.  It takes 3-4 years to get a million hits based on current performance. This has been a challenging year, mainly because the pandemic had some impact on my social media activity and also in terms of growth.  2020 and 2021 were slower than normal…
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UK Travel Insurance – please give cancer patients a break!

UK Travel Insurance – please give cancer patients a break!

Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Patient Advocacy, Survivorship, Travel with Ronny
Updated and reviewed 10th June 2022 - UK travel insuranceOPINION.FOR UK NEUROENDOCRINE CANCER PATIENTS but some of my findings are potentially applicable in other countries although there will be different insurance underwriting rules for cancer patients.  One thing is common, cancer patients present risk, and increased risk is normally more expensive in the insurance business. Nothing in this article should be interpreted as a recommendation to travel or use any company or service mentioned.  This is based entirely on my own experience and decisions.  I also declare no interest in any of the companies listed, i.e. I am not receiving any free or reduced cover or any financial incentive for mentioning a particular company.  I do this to try to help others.   I first started supporting this issue via Macmillan in…
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Hadrian’s Wall Day 6 – Mission Complete!

Hadrian’s Wall Day 6 – Mission Complete!

Awareness, Inspiration, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Travel with Ronny
[caption id="attachment_1144" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] Sunset over the Solway Firth (Scotland in the distance)[/caption]The final leg of the our Hadrian's Wall walk took us from beautiful Carlisle to the remote coast of North Cumbria at Bowness-on-Solway.  We are staying there tonight before beginning our journey home tomorrow (via Newcastle). Amazingly our digs have a wicked view of the Scottish coastline and the setting sun - see picture above which was taken from our room.  It was pretty surreal to have finished 6 days of torturous walking but also to be able to look at such a wonderful view of the country in which I was born.Some people say final leg of the walk is pretty boring but Chris and I disagree. Yes it's flat but the first half is a wonderful…
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