Depression - Ronny Allan - Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer

Tag: Depression

An illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts and that affects the way a person eats, sleeps, feels about himself or herself, and thinks about things. Depression is not the same as a passing blue mood. It is not a sign of personal weakness or a condition that can be wished away. People with depression cannot merely ‘pull themselves together’ and get better. Without treatment, symptoms can last for weeks, months, or years. Appropriate treatment, however, can help most people with depression. The signs and symptoms of depression include loss of interest in activities that were once interesting or enjoyable, including sex; loss of appetite, with weight loss, or overeating, with weight gain; loss of emotional expression (flat affect); a persistently sad, anxious, or empty mood; feelings of hopelessness, pessimism, guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness; social withdrawal; unusual fatigue, low energy level, a feeling of being slowed down; sleep disturbance and insomnia, early-morning awakening or oversleeping; trouble concentrating, remembering, or making decisions; unusual restlessness or irritability; persistent physical problems such as headaches, digestive disorders, or chronic pain that do not respond to treatment, and thoughts of death or suicide or suicide attempts. The principal types of depression are called major depression, dysthymia, and bipolar disease (manic-depressive disease).

02Oct 2021 by Ronny Allan 1 Comment

The psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on patients with neuroendocrine tumors: Between resilience and vulnerability

Patient Advocacy, Survivorship

I see a lot of emotional and anxiety issues in my private group. I guess cancer diagnoses are involved in much of it adding to the daily issues faced in the general population. Fears for quality of life, fears of dying, fears for how dependents will manage. For the first few years, I myself thought I might not make it. I once wrote an article to help people with perspective and some structure to approaching ways of dealing, this was backed up with videos from psychology and healthcare professionals who deal with cancer patients. February 2020 - boom! Add in a global pandemic and all that follows and it's throwing fuel on those fires. The COVID-19 pandemic has added another layer of complexity to the fears of NET patients. Inability to travel,…

08Aug 2021 by Ronny Allan 1 Comment

Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) – Neuroendocrine Cancer

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

In my patient support group of 8000+, 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 quite a while leading up to the diagnosis. That said, I gradually got back into old ways after diagnosis and pretty much continued to put my tiredness down to the same…

20Oct 2020 by Ronny Allan No Comments

Serotonin – it’s a no-brainer!

Patient Advocacy

OPINIONThere is constant discussion about the effects of serotonin-producing tumours and issues of depression, anxiety, and 'rage'. However, it's a really complex issue for laypeople and I have no intention of trying to resolve it in this article. However, it's clear to me from listening and reading these discussions in patient forums for many years, that most of the discussion appears to be based on years of unsubstantiated and unmoderated debate inside patient forums without professional input. This is not an attempt to bash patient leaders and forum administrators, because a full understanding of these issues needs a much wider moderation. I've spent a considerable time researching and analysing what science is known and I can tell you now that the behaviour of serotonin in the human body is not…

12Feb 2018 by Ronny Allan 9 Comments

Don’t be underactive with your Thyroid surveillance

Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Patient Advocacy, Survivorship, Treatment

From other posts, you'll be aware of the thyroid lesion (approx. 17 x 19mm) which I've been tracking since 2013. The surveillance included routine thyroid blood tests, mainly TSH, T3 and 4. I was out of range in TSH (elevated) but the T4 was at the lower end of the normal range. On 20 March 2018, following an Endocrine appointment, I was put on a trial dose of 50mcg of Levothyroxine to counter the downwards trend in results indicating hypothyroidism, possibly due to the lesion. Levothyroxine is a thyroid hormone (thyroxine) replacement. One month after taking these drugs, my thyroid blood levels are now normal for the first time in 4 years (since there are records of test results - it might be longer).[caption id="attachment_16877" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Click on the…

08Sep 2016 by Ronny Allan 20 Comments

Serotonin – the NET effect

Diet and Nutrition, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Patient Advocacy

picture shows an actual serotonin receptor BackgroundI'd never heard of Serotonin until I was diagnosed with Neuroendocrine Cancer in 2010. It is frequently discussed, often with contrasting views from the respondents. One common assumption/question is that it is responsible for many things that can go wrong with Neuroendocrine Cancer patients who have serotonin-producing tumours. To a certain extent, that's true but statement such as "it's the hormones" is an easy assumption to make; or an easy answer to give in response to a complex set of circumstances. It's difficult to get a definitive answer and the science behind the behaviour of our hormones isn't really 100% tied down - the human body is extremely complex.You may see serotonin referred to as a 'neurotransmitter', a 'chemical' and a 'hormone' - this…