Tag: Overdiagnosis

Finding cases of cancer with a screening test (such as a mammogram or PSA test) that will never cause any symptoms. These cancers may just stop growing or go away on their own. Some of the harms caused by overdiagnosis are anxiety and having treatments that are not needed.

21Jul 2018 by Ronny Allan 16 Comments

Neuroendocrine Cancer: Ga68 PET Scan – a game changer?

Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Survivorship, Treatment

This is not my personal scan When I was offered my very first Ga68 PET/CT at a 6 monthly surveillance meeting in May 2018, I was both excited and apprehensive. Let me explain below why I had a mix of emotions. You can read about my Ga68 PET experience here. I was diagnosed in 2010 with metastatic NETs clearly showing on CT scan, the staging was confirmed via an Octreotide Scan which in addition pointed out two further deposits above the diaphragm (one of which has since been dealt with). In addition to routine surveillance via CT scan, I had two further Octreotide Scans in 2011 and 2013 following 3 surgeries, these confirmed the surveillance CT findings of the remnant disease. The third scan in 2013 highlighted an additional lesion…

31May 2018 by Ronny Allan 17 Comments

All you need to know about Somatostatin Receptor PET/CT Scans for Neuroendocrine Tumours

Treatment

Cancer is a growth industry ...literally! More people are being diagnosed than ever before. Fortunately, more people are surviving than ever before. This is against a backdrop of better awareness, better screening in the big population cancers, and to a certain extent better diagnostic tools, all of which is leading to earlier diagnosis.So how does this affect Neuroendocrine Cancer?According to the latest SEER database figures for Neuroendocrine Cancer, one reason for the 7 fold increase in incidence rates since the 1970s is all of those things above including better diagnostics. This has led to a revised set of epidemiological information in many countries that have made the effort to accurately update their cancer registries and there are consistent reports of incidence rates way beyond the recognised rare thresholds. Another piece…

Summary May produced the best statistics in 2023, mainly due to your support for my blog post on Maria Menounos whose announcement headlined as “Pancreatic Cancer” caused a storm within the Neuroendocrine Cancer community. Below, I’ll list the top performing blog posts in May and no secret which one is listed first. Repeat after me: […]

Getting back in the saddle

Those who follow my Facebook page Ronny Allan may remember my cycling faux pas in April causing me to bruise or fracture a rib (here if you missed it). I was told it may take up to 6 weeks to heal, it took 5. During that painful period, I looked ahead and wondered how I […]

Clinical Trial: Phase 1/2a Study of 23ME-00610 in Patients With Advanced Solid Malignancies (incl Neuroendocrine Neoplasms)

Who are 23andMe? I personally had not heard of 23andMe but many people in North America might have. When you first look at what they do, you can be excused for thinking they are just another ‘Ancestry’ company, but they are more than that. They also get involved in genetics and health. To quote their […]

A spotlight on Chromogranin A

What is Chromogranin A? Chromogranin A (CgA) is an acidic protein released along with catecholamines from chromaffin cells and nerve terminals. This statement alone might explain why it’s a good marker to use with Neuroendocrine Neoplasms. It is said to be a measure of tumour bulk. Depending on the test kit being used, you may […]

Neuroendocrine Cancer: Catch them early, not late!

Diagnosing Neuroendocrine Neoplasms (NENs). It’s no secret that Neuroendocrine Neoplasms (NENs) can be difficult to diagnose, particularly well differentiated slow growing types (NETs) which can sometimes be difficult to see. Plus, many patients present with relatively routine day to day symptoms suggesting a myriad of day-to-day illnesses seen daily in every GP/PCP practice. But conversely, […]