Chemotherapy Archives - Ronny Allan - Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer

03Feb 2018 by Ronny Allan 5 Comments

Neuroendocrine Cancer Clinical Trial: Advanced Oncology Formula enterade®

Diet and Nutrition, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Survivorship, Treatment

Diarrhea is a huge subject for NET patients, whether it's caused by the tumor itself (i.e. a syndrome), due to treatment, knock on effects of treatment, or some other reason, it can dramatically limit qualify of life. Working out the root cause can be problematic even for medical teams. I wrote about these issues before in my article Neuroendocrine Cancer - the diarrhea jigsaw. So when I saw the data from a trial of something called enterade®, I was immediately drawn to investigate. I don't normally write articles on over the counter commercial products but this one is an exception given that it has been classed as a medical food since 2012 and is also used to rehydrate patients undergoing radiotherapy and chemotherapy for cancer (so not just for NETs).…

12Dec 2017 by Ronny Allan 3 Comments

Update: Management of Neuroendocrine Tumors

Awareness, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Treatment

This is an excellent and positive video based overview of where we are with the Management of NETs. This is a presentation from a NET Specialist (who some of you may know) presenting to a "GI Malignancies" conference. This is therefore not only awareness of NETs, it's also some good education for non NET GI experts who may only know the very basics. Useful for patients too! I met Dr Strosberg in Barcelona (ENETS 2017) and thanked him for his presentational and scientific paper output which I often use in my articles. The classification picture is good as it explains the different facets of NETs and how NETs are classified and categorised in a general way - not seen it done this way before. Slightly out of date as…

16Oct 2017 by Ronny Allan 2 Comments

Neuroendocrine Neoplasms – Can they be cured?

Awareness, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Patient Advocacy, Survivorship, Treatment

OPINION: "Cured" - In cancer, this word can evoke a number of emotions. Interestingly, not all these emotions will be as positive as you might think. If you want to spark a heated debate on a Neuroendocrine Cancer patient forum, just mention that you've been cured. I'm not taking any sides by using this statement, just stating what actually happens and the deeply held views that persist in community held groups. One important factor in some of this thinking is that many people still remember the days where most diagnoses were late and many followed years of misdiagnoses for other conditions. But the latest statistics (which are now quite old) indicate things are changing. The massive increase in incidence rates indicates earlier diagnoses and it's true for many cancers, including…

08Oct 2017 by Ronny Allan 7 Comments

The shock effect never wears off

Awareness, Inspiration, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Survivorship, Treatment

Patient stories are key to any awareness campaign. Nothing like a human being standing up and letting you know about their experience. Many are positive examples of how they are overcoming their trials and tribulations, others tell stories of a struggle. They all have different styles, some are the 'kick ass' type stories, some are just thankful, some are reflective - all of them are perfectly acceptable. I normally like to place myself somewhere in the middle with phrases like "I'm still here", although I can veer left and right when the mood takes me! Because of my social media footprint, I get a lot of private messages from people across the globe. Many are from people who have no wish to go public and that's fine. Many are from…

19May 2017 by Ronny Allan 5 Comments

ASCO 2017 – Let’s talk about NETs #ASCO17

Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Patient Advocacy, Survivorship, Treatment

ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology) is one of the biggest cancer conferences in the world normally bringing together more than 30,000 oncology professionals from around the world to discuss state-of-the-art treatment modalities, new therapies, and ongoing controversies in the field. As Neuroendorine Tumors is on a roll in terms of new treatments and continued research, we appear to be well represented with over 20 'extracts' submitted for review and display. This is fairly complex stuff but much of it will be familiar to many. I've filtered and extracted all the Neuroendocrine stuff into one list providing you with an easy to peruse table of contents, complete with relevant linkages if you need to read more. For many the extract title and conclusion will be sufficiently educational or at least…

25Apr 2017 by Ronny Allan 13 Comments

Diagnosed with Neuroendocrine Cancer? – 10 questions to ask your doctor (and where to find a NET Specialist Worldwide)

Awareness, Diet and Nutrition, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Patient Advocacy, Survivorship

Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter Share on pinterest Pinterest Share on whatsapp WhatsApp Share on email Email On the day I was diagnosed, I hadn't really thought about questions, the only one I actually remember asking was "how long do I have left to live" (I watch too many movies!). On the day of diagnosis and a period beyond, people tend to feel emotions of shock, denial, anger and sadness, before going on to accept their situation. Yes, I 'googled' but not a great deal really - although some things I found did frighten me. I wish I had found this article way back then. As things progressed in the weeks after 'D-Day', I started to work out the sort of things to ask but even then…

06Apr 2017 by Ronny Allan 2 Comments

Don’t believe the hype – Neuroendocrine Cancer Myths debunked

Awareness, Diet and Nutrition, Inspiration, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Patient Advocacy, Survivorship, Treatment

Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter Share on pinterest Pinterest Share on whatsapp WhatsApp Share on email Email OPINION.There's a lot of inaccurate and out of date information out there. Some is just a lack of understanding, some caused by out of date websites, often as a result of patient forum myth spreading. Some can only be described as propaganda.Myth 1: All Neuroendocrine Tumours are benignNot true. By any scientific definition, the word 'tumour' means 'an abnormal mass of tissue that results when cells divide more than they should or do not die when they should. Tumours may be benign (not cancerous), or malignant (cancerous)'. Sure, some NETs will be benign but a tumours which spreads away from the primary site cannot be benign by any scientific definition.…

21Feb 2017 by Ronny Allan No Comments

Recent Progress in NET Management – Positive presentation from Jonathan R Strosberg MD

Awareness, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Patient Advocacy, Treatment

I recently wrote a blog called Neuroendocrine Cancer – Exciting Times Ahead! I wrote that on a day I was feeling particularly positive and at the time, I wanted to share that positivity with you. I genuinely believe there's a lot of great things happening. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot still to be done, particularly in the area of diagnosis and quality of life after being diagnosed. However, this is a really great message from a well-known NET expert. In an interview with OncLive, Jonathan R. Strosberg, MD, associate professor at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Florida, discussed his presentation on NETs at a recent 2016 Symposium, and shed light on the progress that has been made in this treatment landscape. OncLive: Please highlight some of the main points from your…

21Jan 2017 by Ronny Allan 1 Comment

Neuroendocrine Tumor Drug Clinical Trial – Cabozantinib (includes news on Pheochromoctyoma and Paraganglioma)

Clinical Trials, Patient Advocacy, Survivorship, Treatment

What is Cabozantinib? Cabozantinib is an oral drug which works by blocking the growth of new blood vessels that feed a tumour. In addition to blocking the formation of new blood cells in tumours, Cabozantinib also blocks pathways that may be responsible for allowing cancers cells to become resistant to other "anti-angiogenic" drugs. It is a type of drug called a growth blocker. Cabozantinib has been studied or is already in research studies as a possible treatment for various types of cancer, including prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, brain cancer, thyroid cancer, lung cancer, and kidney cancer. During my research, I found that it has a connection to Medullary Thyroid Cancer (MTC) which is a type of Neuroendocrine Cancer, frequently associated with Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia (MEN). Cabozantinib, under the brand name of…

30Nov 2016 by Ronny Allan 7 Comments

NET Syndromes – chicken or egg?

Awareness, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Patient Advocacy

We’ve all heard the age-old question about the chicken and the egg? Scientists claimed to have 'cracked' the riddle of whether the chicken or the egg came first. The answer, they say, is the chicken. Researchers found that the formation of egg shells relies on a protein found only in a chicken's ovaries. Therefore, an egg can exist only if it has been inside a chicken. There you have it! On a similar subject, I'm often confused when someone says they have been diagnosed with 'Carcinoid Syndrome' and not one of associated 'Neuroendocrine Tumours'. So which comes first? I guess it's the way you look at it. In terms of presentation, the syndrome might look like it comes first, particularly in cases of metastatic/advanced disease or other complex scenarios. Alternatively, a tumour…

23Nov 2016 by Ronny Allan 12 Comments

Chemo or not Chemo – that is the question

Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Treatment

I'm continually seeing certain drugs for treatment of Neuroendocrine Tumours (NETs) described as chemotherapy. I think there must be some confusion with more modern drugs which are more targeted and work in a different way to Chemotherapy. I researched several sites and they all tend to provide a summary of chemotherapy which is worded like this: Chemotherapy means: a treatment of cancer by using anti-cancer medicines called cytotoxic drugs. Cytotoxic medicines are poisonous (toxic) to cancer cells. They kill cancer cells or stop them from multiplying. Different cytotoxic medicines do this in different ways. However, they all tend to work by interfering with some aspect of how the cells divide and multiply. Two or more cytotoxic medicines are often used in a course of chemotherapy, each with a different way of working. This may give a better…

16Nov 2016 by Ronny Allan 16 Comments

“You must be doing OK, you’ve not had chemotherapy”

Awareness, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Survivorship, Treatment

If there's a word which is synonymous with cancer, it's chemotherapy. It's what most people have in their mind when they are talking to a cancer patient...... 'have you had chemotherapy' or 'when do you start chemotherapy'. I was nonchalantly asked by a friend some time ago 'how did you get on with chemotherapy' - he was surprised to hear I hadn't had it despite my widespread disease. Cue - lengthy explanation! I wasn't annoyed by the question, I just think people automatically assume every cancer patient has to undergo some form of systemic chemotherapy. If you read any newspaper article about cancer, they do nothing to dispel that myth, as many articles contain a story about a cancer patient with no hair. Sure, chemotherapy is not the nicest treatment to receive and it does have pretty…

02Nov 2016 by Ronny Allan 9 Comments

Neuroendocrine Cancer – Exciting Times Ahead!

Inspiration, Survivorship, Treatment

In the last 12-24 months, there seems to have been announcement after announcement of new and/or upgraded/enhanced diagnostics and treatment types for Neuroendocrine Cancer. Scans, radionuclide therapies, combination therapies, somatostatin analogues, biological therapies, etc. Some of the announcements are just expansions of existing therapies having been approved in new (but significant) regions. Compared to some other cancers, even those which hit the headlines often, we appear to be doing not too badly. However, the pressure needs to stay on, all patients need access to the best diagnostics and treatments for them; and at the requisite time. There's even more in the pipeline and I'm hoping to continue to bring you news of new stuff as I have been doing for the last year. Some of these new diagnostics and treatments will benefit eligible patients who are…

15Sep 2016 by Ronny Allan 17 Comments

Neuroendocrine Cancer – the diarrhea jigsaw

Diet and Nutrition, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Patient Advocacy, Survivorship, Treatment

Diarrhea can be a symptom of many conditions but it is particularly key in Neuroendocrine Tumour (NET) Syndromes and types, in particular, Carcinoid Syndrome but also in those associated with various other NET types such as VIPoma, PPoma, Gastrinoma, Somatostatinoma, Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma. Secondly, it can be a key consequence (side effect) of the treatment for Neuroendocrine Tumours and Carcinomas, in particular following surgery where various bits of the gastrointestinal tract are excised to remove and/or debulk tumour load. There are other reasons that might be causing or contributing, including (but not limited to) endocrine problems such as hyperthryoidism, mastocytosis or Addison's disease (which may be secondary illnesses in those with NETs). It's also possible that 'non-sydromic' issues such as stress and diet are contributing. It could be caused by…

25Aug 2016 by Ronny Allan 5 Comments

Neuroendocrine Cancer – not average, just mean

Awareness, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Patient Advocacy, Survivorship

[caption id="attachment_9913" width="506"] incidence rising faster than all other malignant neoplasms[/caption] Most people have perceptions of cancer in their heads, fairly fixed perceptions too. They think about all the stuff they see daily on TV, in the main press, and people they know. The big cancers set the scene. Most doctors know about the big cancers. They also know how to treat them, many of them have a fairly fixed regime of surgery/chemotherapy/radiotherapy. Many survivors will have side effects of their treatments, e.g.perhaps temporarily losing their hair. More people are now surviving these cancers and many will be declared disease-free or placed into some sort of remission status (no evidence of disease is a common term I see). Most NETs are not like that! Whilst it has a reputation for…

08Aug 2016 by Ronny Allan 3 Comments

Not every illness is visible

Awareness, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Survivorship

I personally don't see myself as 'disabled' but I do have an invisible illness. I'm fit, can walk for miles, I even look quite healthy. However, I live with the consequences of Neuroendocrine Cancer. These consequences differ from person to person but I know that some people with this disease have even met the criteria to be officially classed as 'disabled' through government schemes. Judging by what I read, I have less debilitating issues than others, so I feel quite fortunate. That's not to say I don't have any issues at all - because I do! [caption id="attachment_13469" align="aligncenter" width="720"] Situation normal, right? [/caption] I was therefore delighted to see news of an initiative supporting invisible illnesses by Asda (for those outside UK, Asda is a major UK wide supermarket chain). Asda have now recognised that many conditions can be classed as ‘invisible disabilities’ and…

15Apr 2016 by Ronny Allan 36 Comments

Neuroendocrine Cancer – it takes guts

Survivorship

The majority of Neuroendocrine Tumours (NETs) are slow-growing (well differentiated). However, many tumours can be silent (non-functioning) for some years before they start to 'function' and inform you of their presence. Even then, it may take some time to work out the real cause as the symptoms can mimic regular ailments. Moreover, in most cases, the appearance of a functional tumour often indicates the disease has metastasised and could now be incurable. Some tumours will grow and metastasise without syndromes, i.e. they are non-functional. These may become functional at some point in the future. However, with most slow-growing NETs, this does not mean terminal as there are various treatment options even at Stage IV. In fact, NETs are one example where surgery at the metastatic stage can often provide prognostic advantages…

22Oct 2015 by Ronny Allan 7 Comments

Your Money or Your Life

Inspiration, Survivorship, Treatment

As I have a 2 year old post about Danielle, I wanted to preface it with this message. It is with great sadness that I let you know Danielle Tindle passed away at the end of August 2017 after a prolonged battle with Neuroendocrine Carcinoma. She had been fighting cancer in one form or another for 12 years and became passionate in campaigning for more attention for young cancer patients. I've been following her story for almost 2 years and she has really inspired me. The title of this article is based on the title of a TV programme about her and her campaign to gain access to new drugs. I had chatted with Danielle online about some of the story below and I hope I've interpreted it correctly. RIP…

11Aug 2015 by Ronny Allan 27 Comments

I look well but you should see my insides

Awareness, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Survivorship, Treatment

Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter Share on pinterest Pinterest Share on whatsapp WhatsApp Share on email Email I'm sat next to patients waiting on their chemotherapy treatment - the "Chemo Ward" sign above the door gives it away. I'm here for my 28-day cycle injection of Lanreotide which will hopefully keep my Neuroendocrine Tumours at bay.* I look all around, the temporary beds and the waiting room are full and all I can see is people who don't look as well as I do. Some have hats or bandanas partly disguising the loss of hair. I feel for them. No matter how many visits I make, I can't help feeling out of place on a Cancer ward. I'm not sure why I feel like this; after all, I've had some very scary surgery and I've been…

30Jul 2015 by Ronny Allan 8 Comments

‘Chinese Dumplings’ and Neuroendocrine Cancer

Treatment

[caption id="attachment_3653" align="aligncenter" width="477"] Chinese dumplings[/caption] One of my daily alerts brought up this very interesting article published in the Journal of Gastrointestinal Oncology last month (June 2015). I personally found it fascinating. Moreover, it gave me some hope that specialists are out there looking for novel treatments to help with the difficult fight against Neuroendocrine Cancer. This is an article about something generally described as "Intra-operative Chemotherapy", i.e. the administration of chemo during surgery. This isn't any old article - this is written by someone who is very well-known in Neuroendocrine Cancer circles - Dr. Yi-Zarn Wang. Note Dr Wang has a new post in Charleston (South Carolina) at the Trident Medical Center and he will be a useful addition to the NET specialist presence which is quite sparse in that…

26Apr 2015 by Ronny Allan 9 Comments

Chemotherapy for Neuroendocrine Cancer

Awareness, Treatment

Chemotherapy and Neuroendocrine Cancer One of the unusual aspects of Neuroendocrine Cancer is that chemotherapy is not normally considered as a 'standard' treatment unlike many other cancers. One exception is high grade (Grade 3) where it is often a first and/or second line therapy. Poorly differentiated Neuroendocrine disease is normally labelled as Neuroendocrine Carcinoma (NEC) but worth pointing out there is now a Grade 3 well differentiated classification known as a 'Grade 3 NET' rather than Grade 3 NEC. Depending on Ki67 score, there could be differing treatment options for Grade 3 NET and Grade 3 NEC. Read more in my articles Staging and Grading and High Grade. Many people think Chemotherapy has a short life span due to recent advances in medical science, some citing Immunotherapy as it's replacement.…

07Jan 2015 by Ronny Allan 7 Comments

The Mother of all Surgeries

Treatment

[caption id="attachment_2338" align="aligncenter" width="500"] Surgery[/caption] My plan for this week's blog was to continue with a surgery theme using the story of a lady who had what was described as the "Mother of all Surgeries" after being late diagnosed with a very rare and advanced type of appendiceal cancer. With NETs, surgery is a topical subject as not everyone will be able to have it and some might not even need it. Check out my blog "to cut or not to cut". I suggested in a previous blog that 'Surgery is a gift that keeps on giving' and that is probably true for many cancer survivors. However, I then added that NETs were one of a small number of tumours for which surgical debulking can provide some survival advantage for those with metastatic and incurable disease. In my own case, I've…