New Clinical Trial – Testing Lutetium Lu 177 Dotatate in Patients With Somatostatin Receptor Positive Advanced Bronchial Neuroendocrine Tumors
When I see a trial for Gastroenteropancreatic NETs (GEPNETs), I know that BP (Bronchopulmonary) NETs (includes Lung) are not included. When you look at the approval wording for the major treatments in use (PRRT Lutathera, Lanreotide), they appear to use the term GEPNETs making BP NETs the poor relative. Clearly there’s highly complex reasons why NETs react differently in different parts of the body. I can see that BP NET patients were involved in clinical trials for both of the mainstream treatments listed above. The drug approval process is also highly complex, and I can see from the wording that functional…
The GRAIL multi-cancer early detection test study
Updated 26 Apr 2025. The GRAIL Test (Galleri)Update USA 26th Apr 2025 GRAIL to Present New Data on Galleri® and its Methylation Platform at American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting in Chicago, April 25-30, 2025. Detail to follow - read announcement here. Update UK 26th Apr 2025 The NHS-Galleri trial (NCT05611632) is a randomised controlled trial (RCT) of 140,000 participants being conducted in the NHS in England. The aim of the trial is to assess the clinical utility of the Galleri test to detect cancer early in a population of people who don’t have symptoms, when used alongside existing NHS…
Neuroendocrine Tumors: Targeted Therapies – Update from NET Specialist Diane Reidy-Lagunes, MD, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center – August 2021
Background. For those who want a quick run through of Neuroendocrine Tumors from diagnosis to selection of treatment, about the treatments themselves plus what is the Future Directions in the Management of Neuroendocrine Tumors. There are 8 episodes, and each is around 3-5 minutes long. I personally found them very useful and in a language understandable to patients. Great job by OncLive and Dr Reidy-Lagunes! Episode 1 - Understanding the Diagnosis and Prognosis of Neuroendocrine Tumors Diane Reidy-Lagunes, MD, provides an overview of neuroendocrine tumors, along with specific considerations for optimal diagnosis and prognostication. Understanding the Diagnosis and Prognosis of Neuroendocrine Tumors (onclive.com)…
UK Travel Insurance – please give cancer patients a break!
Updated and reviewed 22nd October 2025 - UK travel insuranceOPINION.FOR UNITED KINGDOM (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…
In the early days, I thought I was going to die
Opinion. It can be extremely hard to face a diagnosis of cancer and with that, an uncertain future. After treatment, there's worry about the cancer growing or coming back after a period of stability. BUT there is also the thought of dying of cancer. I think as you get older, you tend to begin to accept death is inevitable, or at least that is how I feel today, aged 65. I was diagnosed at the age of 54 which I guess in cancer terms, is still relatively young. I also suspect this fear must be multiplied in a much younger…
Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) – The NET Effect
In my patient support group of almost 10,000+, fatigue is very commonly discussed, and it certainly gets bags of empathy from the readers. I remember being really tired in the first few years after my diagnosis and in the years preceding it. As I was very focused on my work in those days, I was putting it down to the rigours of my working practices, commuting, overnighting, and working far too many hours in a day. In 2010, my diagnosis was triggered by symptoms of iron deficiency anaemia which was almost certainly connected to my cancer and feelings of fatigue for…
Let’s Talk About NETs (#LetsTalkAboutNETs)
I do a lot of writing about NETs but I guess I've also done some talking too. Some of these talks to patient groups and healthcare professionals were recorded and I have access to those recordings. Others were not recorded but where possible and I am authorised to do so, I will attach the presentation slides. Please note videos, presentation slides, and any Podcasts are in English. I'll list some of them below for your perusal. I will keep adding them so they're all in one place. Published TalksAnn Edgar Trust - 31st August 2022I was invited by Gordon Mackay who runs…
11 years – I’m still here!
I finally made 11 years since I was diagnosed on 26th July 2010. A milestone I was not certain at the time I would reach. However, as things progressed, as treatment was administered, and as I got used to living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, I eventually became more confident this was a possibility. I was fortunate that my cancer was not that aggressive although it was aggressive enough over an unknown period of time (probably years) to have grown inside my small intestine and mesentery, reached an army of lymph nodes and settled in my liver and beyond including, strangely, in…
Neuroendocrine Cancer: 48 hours before diagnosis
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.…
A person with Neuroendocrine Cancer fell into a hole and couldn’t get out……….
A person with Neuroendocrine Cancer fell into a hole and couldn’t get out. As a colleague walked by, the person called out for help, but the colleague yelled back, "Suck it up, dig deep and get on with it" then threw the person a shovel. The person accepted that advice and dug that hole deeper.A manager went by, and the person called out for help again. The manager shouted down "Use the tools your colleague has given you", but then threw down a bucket adding to the tools available. The person used the tools to dig the hole deeper still…
A painting from America
Which one is the painting? (See separate originals below) I've always been one to keep an eye out for the postman (the postie as we say here). Even as a heavy user of computers, I still get excited about receiving 'paper' mail. Other than birthday cards, I personally don't tend to see many handwritten letters nowadays. In today's internet connected world, handwritten letters are always exciting, always special. This time it was a parcel from USA but unlike the story "Letter from America" (see below), I was expecting this one. One of the NET community had selected one of my walk…
I have walked 500 miles and I will walk 500 more (….. sing along)
https://youtu.be/VKyWLAaStwM?t=53 At the beginning of the year, I signed up to walk 1000 miles in 2021. I can now confirm, I'm halfway there in 5 months. I have buffer time ..... but only if I keep going. By total coincidence it came on the anniversary of the completion of an 84 mile walk along Hadrian's Wall on 31st May 2014. 500 miles seems a lot more than that epic journey, but Chris and I did do around 300 miles in training to build up our stamina. Am I mad walking 1000 miles as a Stage 4 cancer patient? Not quite…
Clinical Trial: Survivin Long Peptide Vaccine (SurVaxM) in Treating Patients With Metastatic Neuroendocrine Tumors
What are cancer vaccines? I remember seeing a comment by a NET Specialist on twitter saying, "We need vaccines". This was in response to a tweet from another NET Specialist reporting dismal data from an immunotherapy drug for Neuroendocrine Carcinomas. In 2020/2021, the word vaccine has been used a lot, but this specialist was not inferring anti-viral treatment, he was talking about "cancer vaccines", an emerging discipline in science where vaccines act as an immunostimulant to treat cancer. This prompted me to look around and found this trial which may be of interest to you. However, before anyone gets too…
![Clinical Trial: [212Pb]VMT-α-NET Alpha-emitter – Phase 1/2a Clinical Trial](https://i0.wp.com/ronnyallan.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/VMT-alpha-theranostics-1.jpg?resize=400%2C280&ssl=1)
Clinical Trial: [212Pb]VMT-α-NET Alpha-emitter – Phase 1/2a Clinical Trial
[212Pb]VMT-α-NET Phase 1/2a Clinical Trial Uupdate 21 June 2025. Perspective Therapeutics Commences Recruitment for [212Pb]VMT-α-NET in the Third Dose Escalation Cohort of its Ongoing Phase 1/2a Clinical Trial June 21, 2025 [212Pb]VMT-α-NET Phase 1/2a study is advancing into Cohort 3 with a fixed administered dose that is up to 20% higher (6 mCi) than the dose administered to patients in Cohort 2 Dosimetry sub-study analysis presented at the Society of Nuclear Medicine & Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) 2025 Annual Meeting to advance utility of dosimetry in clinical development when considered with clinical data On track to submit further clinical updates to…
Dual Tracer (68Ga-DOTATATE and 18F-FDG) PET Imaging in G2 & G3 Gastroenteropancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumours
For some time now, I've been watching the development of PET scans for Neuroendocrine Neoplasms (NENs). I use the term 'Neoplasms' because there are different strategies for well and poorly differentiated types, Neuroendocrine Tumour (NET) and Neuroendocrine Carcinoma (NEC) respectively.It's known that most NETs have somatostatin receptors which makes tumours be seen better on somatostatin receptor-based imaging e.g. 68Ga-DOTATATE or 64Cu DOTATATE, but more aggressive types tend not to have working somatostatin receptors and are better seen on regular PET, i.e. 18F-FDG PET/CT. However, nothing in NENs is simple and there's always outliers. This has been highlighted since the addition…
Generic Somatostatin Analogues for Neuroendocrine Cancer
Generic Somatostatin Analogues. I've covered a lot about somatostatin analogues, particularly the two predominant approved drugs Lanreotide and Octreotide. Recently I found there are some for octreotide and as of Jul 2021, at least one for Lanreotide and is increasing. The reason for publication of this blog is because I was concerned to hear patients asking questions about generic lanreotide and octreotide in my private Facebook group where they were suggesting they could be of lesser quality. I studied that in more detail and here are the results of that research. What are generic drugs? Primer Companies take out exclusive rights…
Treatment for Neuroendocrine Cancer – a summary for patients
ScopeThis summary provides an overview of the types of therapy known for treating Neuroendocrine Cancer. They will have been approved at least by one national or regional approval agency, may not be available or approved in your own country; and may appear in clinical guidelines for the treatment of Neuroendocrine Cancer.Clinical trials will not be covered, although it's noted that some of the approved treatments listed may be in follow on trials either to prove new coverage or used in combination with another drug. For a list of clinical trials covered by the author, click here. This summary will not…
Ronny Allan Newsletter – 1st March 2021
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter Share on pinterest Pinterest Share on whatsapp WhatsApp Share on email Email OverviewMany thanks for the support in February both on public pages and in my group - in fact the group's statistics are totally booming - that is helping a lot of people. My public sites still need some work and I'm hoping you can help with that. Of course, it's not helped by my finger injury which is holding me back. Read more about that problem below.Monthly update followsThe newsletter is now divided into several sections:1. External news of interest. …
Opinion: On Rare Disease Day, what’s wrong with a bit of Neuroendocrine Cancer awareness?
On Rare Disease Day, what's wrong with a bit of Neuroendocrine Cancer awareness? Well, there are three main things wrong with Neuroendocrine Cancer awareness. 1The incidence and prevalence of Neuroendocrine Neoplasms (the combination of Neuroendocrine Tumours (NET) and Neuroendocrine Carcinomas (NEC)) have skyrocketed in the last 40 years to the point that many scientists, epidemiologists and Neuroendocrine specialists are starting to use different terminology, commensurate with the math. Two of many examples: Read more by clicking here or on the picture below. Let's do the math not the myth. There are some in the community who will suggest that some individual types…
My treatment is a pain in the butt!
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter Share on pinterest Pinterest Share on whatsapp WhatsApp Share on email Email The post header is a bit ‘tongue in cheek’ (…. did you see what I did there?) I’m very happy to have this treatment every 4 weeks – I can think of far worse scenarios. When I was first diagnosed, the dreaded word ‘Chemo‘ was discussed. Chemo isn’t particularly effective in treating the lower grades of Neuroendocrine Cancer but it is used extensively at high grade and often in Grade 2 showing more effectiveness in pancreatic NETs. Looking back though,…
Ronny Allan – Top 10 for 2020 – Neuroendocrine Cancer
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter Share on pinterest Pinterest Share on whatsapp WhatsApp Share on email Email 2020 was a different year due to the pandemic and it has spilled over into 2021 - this has had the effect of being slightly down on the 2019 figures. I also changed tack on one of my pages adding a 'coping' theme rather than writing new blog posts. This also had the effect of reducing blog hits for the year but very happy under the circumstances. Much of the effort in 2020 was directed in building up my private…
Neuroendocrine Cancer: Follow up tests and checks
Since 2010 I’ve had a lot of surveillance and testing. More than ordinary people can imagine. I can see from various comments on my public pages and posts within my private group, that some people get a lot more than I do and some get less. It’s not true to say we all get the same, there are many factors including stage, grade, type of Neuroendocrine Neoplasm, healthcare system, miscellaneous problems, therapy, and even age.I have metastatic small intestine NET. In the first year or two after diagnosis, I seemed to be in an almost continuous testing phase but that…
Opinion: On World Cancer Day, what’s wrong with a bit of Neuroendocrine Cancer awareness?
On World Cancer Day, what's wrong with a bit of Neuroendocrine Cancer awareness? Well, there are three main things wrong with Neuroendocrine Cancer awareness: If the community does not address these 3 issues, awareness will continue to fail and continue to flounder. I standby to help with the change, in fact, my work started in 2015 and continues. 1. To be told your cancer isn't really cancer is an insult. 2. To be called an animal is to be dehumanised. 3. To be rare when you're not, is a step back and is hindering access to clinical trial research. WE…
Ronny Allan Newsletter – 1st February 2021
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter Share on pinterest Pinterest Share on whatsapp WhatsApp Share on email Email Overview 2021 is now underway and January has been an interesting month. The highs are the approval of more vaccines and I had the first of my own vaccinations on 31st January - click here to see the announcement on my Facebook page. The lows are slightly depressing growth figures on my biggest Facebook public page and less than normal blog figures for the month of January. I'll need to work on that in February and with your help, I…
The Invisibility of Appendiceal and Colorectal NETs – do the math
Do the math not the myth In addition to my mountain of evidence against the so-called rarity of Neuroendocrine Neoplasms, a new study from US indicates that many NETs are hidden among colorectal cancer cases in cancer registries. The study reported extraordinary figures of NET cases found when analysing the data. For years, doctors have been warning about the increasing incidence of colorectal cancer amongst younger people. For that reason, the American Cancer Society recommended people to start screening at a younger age (45 years instead of 50 years) in 2018. This would affect 22 million Americans who now are…
Ronny Allan Newsletter – 1st January 2021
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter Share on pinterest Pinterest Share on whatsapp WhatsApp Share on email Email Happy new year everyone! OverviewJust when things couldn't get weirder, they get weirder. At the beginning of the year, I started as I meant to go on, more advocacy work, more support for patients, grow my pages, grow my website, grow my private group. I achieved most of it (and then some). In February/March, it became obvious things were happening that would have serious consequences. Nonetheless, I think most people thought it would all be over in a few months.…
A 2020 blog review (RonnyAllan.NET)
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter Share on pinterest Pinterest Share on whatsapp WhatsApp Share on email Email Click picture to view the A to Z of Neuroendocrine Cancer by Ronny Allan I should be happy with just over a third of a million views in 2020 but I'm not! I had a target to beat 370,500 from 2019 but fell short by 35,000 (an average month). However, you can see from the chart below, I was on track in Jan/Feb but knocked sideways by the COVID pandemic in March to August. I never got back above 30k…
Genome methylation accurately predicts neuroendocrine tumor origin – finding Neuroendocrine Neoplasms of unknown primary
It's estimated that around 5-10% of Neuroendocrine Neoplasms (NENs) have an unknown primary - what that means is cancer cells have been found in the body but the place cancer began remains unknown. I wrote about this issue in more depth in my article "Needle in a haystack" - you can read that here. In that article, you will note that NET specialists through their knowledge and understanding of the behaviour of these comped tumours, can often drill down and gather various pieces of evidence to help narrow down the primary location. However, this new study would indicate they could…
The other Big C can be dangerous too
I managed to avoid a C-19 infection all the way through several lockdowns, and I deployed a rigorous protection regime throughout. Ditto for Chris. I have a chest infection history, so for me, it was a no-brainer to take advantage of the vaccines on offer.July 2022 - boom! It slipped through the net (no pun). I have to say it was not an enjoyable experience and I would not like to repeat it. December 2023 - boom! Back to back COVID and chest infection.read more about that episode here:Ronny Allan - I delayed this post for two main reasons, firstly...…
Selecting patients and the Challenges of Evaluating Response to PRRT in GEPNETs: The Present and the Future
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter Share on pinterest Pinterest Share on whatsapp WhatsApp Share on email Email Fascinating article from the Italian NET scientific community. This article is more than just what the title says, it provides overviews on many facets of NETs including markers, scans and PRRT itself. It covers how to select patients for PRRT in the first place, i.e. who is most likely to get a good response to this treatment and then look at how to track and assess that response. The important thing I gathered from reading is that none of this…
Lanreotide: Eleven more years please!
Back in February 2015, I wrote an article called "Four more years" and the title came from an election campaign happening at the time when I had been on Lanreotide for approximately four years. Inspired by this campaign slogan, I too wanted four more years and crafted the blog post. However, I was underselling myself as I've now hit 11 years of Lanreotide on 9th December 2021. On that day in 2010, I was still recovering from major surgery and hadn't had any somatostatin analogues since leaving hospital on 26th Nov. Prior to surgery, I had been taking daily shots…
2 Million!
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…
Ronny Allan Newsletter 1st December 2020
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter Share on pinterest Pinterest Share on whatsapp WhatsApp Share on email Email This newsletter covers a busy November with a look ahead for December and beyond. October 2020 was manic, but November was just as manic but in a different way. It was also a better month in terms of growth (increased viewing statistics etc).In UK. most of November had been under new COVID restrictions but due to the weather this time of year, I was not able to exploit that as much as the first lockdown in April/May. Despite that, I'm built…
If it’s not raining, it’s not training! (part 2)
As someone who was born and raised in the Scotland, and lived most of my life in the UK, I'm no stranger to inclement weather. In my 29 years years in the military, the weather was no excuse to do nothing, whether it was training or the real thing. They gave us wet weather clothing after all! There is a saying in the UK army and it goes like this "If it's not raining, it's not training". In classic British pragmatism, it decodes to "raining is normal so get on with it". In fact, one of my oldest army friends…
Ronny Allan Newsletter 1st November 2020
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter Share on pinterest Pinterest Share on whatsapp WhatsApp Share on email Email This newsletter covers a busy October with a look ahead for Nov/Dec. September 2020 was manic but October, although slightly less busy, has been a mix of activity, much of it devoted to personal pursuits. The end of October in UK has arrived and an announcement of another nationwide COVID lockdown. his will keep me low profile in November but as I've said before, I'm built for lockdowns as long as I can get a walk or cycle in the woods…
Piss off cancer – I’m 67.5
I started doing the “Piss off cancer” series when I got to 65, mainly because I initially thought I wouldn’t make that age. I was 54 years and 9 months old at diagnosis on 26th July 2010. For the first few months, I had no idea what the outcome would be. What I did know at the time, given the final staging, grading, and other damage that was accumulated via various tests, checks, and scans; is that my body had been slowly dying. Without intervention I may not be here now to tell you this tale and who knows what…
Early diagnosis of late stage cancer!
OPINION: What a strange title for a cancer blog post! However, what a strange cancer I have. Let me explain - I was really confused in 2010 as to how I could suddenly become a stage 4 Neuroendocrine Cancer patient even though I didn't feel ill enough to see a doctor. To cut a long story short, you can read about me here."The cancer has been growing for years"One of the common stories I hear from other patients is they were told their cancer had been growing for some years, up to 10/11/12 in most cases. I'm fairly certain my surgeon…
Paul Hunter Tribute – Snooker champion and Neuroendocrine Cancer patient
Paul Hunter, three-time Masters snooker champion was just 27 when he fell victim to Neuroendocrine Cancer at the peak of his powers and popularity. At just 25, he'd won the third Masters title, a feat which, at the time, had been achieved by only two other players in the world. He was dubbed the "Beckham of the Baize" because of his chiselled good looks and long, blond hair (a reference to famous footballer David Beckham). The Masters Trophy is one of the prestigious titles in the international snooker world and it was a belated honour that the trophy was renamed…
Ronny Allan Newsletter 1st October 2020
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter Share on pinterest Pinterest Share on whatsapp WhatsApp Share on email Email September 2020 has been another very interesting month and I'm still trying to work out how I've been able to pack it all into 30 days. It's a month full of personal 'cancerversaries', things that have inspired me to do more and signs of normal life returning (well at least a new normal). The newsletter is divided into a number of sections: 1. External news of interest. A shortlist of things I picked up on my social media travels. 2.…
Clinical Trial: Phase II CLARINET FORTE Somatuline Autogel (Lanreotide) increased dosing frequency
CLARINET FORTE is a prospective single-arm, open-label, exploratory, international Phase II study to explore the efficacy and safety of an increased Somatuline® Autogel® (lanreotide) dosing frequency (120 mg every 14 days) in patients with metastatic or locally advanced unresectable pancreatic NETs or midgut NETs, with centrally-accessed progression within the last two years while on a standard lanreotide regimen (120 mg every 28 days) for more than 24 weeks.Data announced in September 2020 at the 2020 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), indicated the phase 2 results support a clinically meaningful benefit to a population of patients with high unmet medical need…
Clinical Trial of Tidutamab in Neuroendocrine Cancer (DUET-1)
UPDATE: 13th July 2022Xencor halted this clinical trial due to disappointing results. Click here to read moreXencor, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing engineered monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases, today announced that initial data from its ongoing Phase 1 dose-escalation study of tidutamab (XmAb®18087), an SSTR2 x CD3 bispecific antibody, in patients with neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) will be presented during the upcoming North American Neuroendocrine Tumor Society’s 2021 Multidisciplinary NET Medical Virtual Symposium (note - it was also presented at NANETS 2020). What are monocloncal antibodies? See here About Tidutamab Monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-produced molecules engineered to…
“I’m vertical” – Steve Jobs announces to Apple staff after a liver transplant
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter Share on pinterest Pinterest Share on whatsapp WhatsApp Share on email Email A lot had been written about Steve Jobs, some good, some bad, some inaccurate - the latter is mostly about the cancer he had. I came across this clip published by an Apple Mac publication and it contained a video of Steve the day he returned to Apple after having a liver transplant and had recovered from the procedure. In it he said "I'm vertical" in classic Jobs language and positive outlook. Watch the clip here:https://youtu.be/BNv2lH225Ko The article is a…
Flower power and the happy hormones
One of the featured pictures below is a sunflower from 2015, something I planted with my own hands, and it grew taller than me (not difficult), even taller than my garden fence (more difficult). Of course, I have to mention my wife Chris because she does infinitely more gardening than I do, and she would have nurtured the sunflower from start to finish after I planted it. Nonetheless, I still felt a remarkably close association with the outcome! It made me happy just to look at it! My most liked Facebook posts in 2020 (the year of COVID) related to plant…
1.4 million thanks!
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter Share on pinterest Pinterest Share on whatsapp WhatsApp Share on email Email Just registered the 1,400,000th view of my blog site. So grateful for the support!Last 12 posts going back to 28th June - feel free to read and share. Each one has a share button for Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, WhatsApp and Email (as has the entire post).You can also catch up on other points of interest and some of my lockdown activities on my Facebook pages Ronny Allan and Neuroendocrine CancerMany thanksRonny
RonnyAllan.NET – Newsletter 1st September 2020
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter Share on pinterest Pinterest Share on whatsapp WhatsApp Share on email Email External news of interestNot surprisingly, news about Neuroendocrine Cancer has been a bit slow but I sense that things are starting to pick up. Here's a few items I picked up during August from my google alerts, from direct contact or from twitter (the latter is a key source for me to hear about what's happening).1. The Middle East Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (MENETS) will hold their first World NEN Lives 2020 Congress this September 23-24 virtually via Zoom. This congress…
RonnyAllan.NET – Newsletter 1st August 2020
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter Share on pinterest Pinterest Share on whatsapp WhatsApp Share on email Email External news of interest Not surprisingly, news about Neuroendocrine Cancer has been a bit slow but I sense that things are starting to pick up. Here's a few items I picked up during July from my google alerts or from twitter (a key source for me to hear about what's happening). 1. 64Cu DOTATATE PET scans. This is an alternative scan that's been in use in Europe but is undergoing trials in US - it has some advantages in particular…
Paraneoplastic Syndromes – the NET Effect
Spectrum of paraneoplastic humoral syndromes secondary to NETs. CT, calcitonin; PTHrP, parathyroid hormone related peptide; CGRP, calcitonin gene related peptide; GLP, glucagon like peptide; ANP, atrial natriuretic peptide; VIP, vasointestinal peptide (*). Citation: Endocrine-Related Cancer 17, 3; 10.1677/ERC-10-0024 (* Author's note: not the usual description of VIP indicating a potential ectopic context) Although several hypotheses have been proposed regarding the pathogenesis of PNSs, the precise mechanism that leads to the development of PNS remains largely unknown. (In simple terms, pathogenesis means "the manner of development of a disease"Disclaimer. I read widely and noted various papers where there was clearly confusion…
10 years, I’m still here
I finally made 10 years since I was diagnosed on 26th July 2010. A milestone I was not certain at the time I would reach. However, as things progressed, as treatment was administered, as I got used to living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, I eventually became more confident this was a possibility. I was fortunate that my cancer was not that aggressive although it was aggressive enough over an unknown period of time (probably years) to have grown inside my small intestine and mesentery, reached an army of lymph nodes and settled in my liver and beyond including, strangely, in my…
Don’t be cavalier with a cancer diagnosis
Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter Share on pinterest Pinterest Share on whatsapp WhatsApp Share on email Email I talk often about my diagnosis but not about an 'incident' which occurred almost immediately prior to being formally told. In fact it happened on 24th July 2010, 10 years to the date this post was published. (Spoiler alert - I'm still here).I was well into the 'diagnostic phase', having had all sorts of tests including a liver biopsy. I vividly remember thinking these tests were a 'nuisance', I was far too busy and I didn't even feel ill. In hindsight,…