Desmoplasia – Ronny Allan – Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer

18Aug 2020 by Ronny Allan No Comments

Small intestine, large surgery

My own experienceAt my diagnostic consultation, the Oncologist told me I had Stage 4 metastatic Small Intestine NET (SI NET). He also told me that surgery would almost definitely be on the cards and would be referring me to an experienced surgeon in a different hospital for assessment. I was assured this surgeon was one of the most experienced in the south of England for NETs. This was before the current multi disciplinary team was setup, but it did all seem so very organised and I felt comfortable, albeit apprehensive. Worth pointing out that surgery is not normally offered in cancer at Stage 4 but the slow growing nature of most NETs allows for some leeway here. Statistics indicate that around 50% of SI NET present as metastatic cases, I'd…

30Oct 2018 by Ronny Allan 9 Comments

Neuroendocrine Cancer – Hormonal Syndromes

Awareness

One of the key awareness messages for Neuroendocrine Cancer is the hormonal syndromes that can often accompany the diagnosis for many people. As it's a difficult disease to diagnose, many people struggle with these syndromes for some time before formal diagnosis of Neuroendocrine Cancer. Some continue to struggle after.The cancer can often be uncannily quiet, but the tumours can be 'functional' and over-secrete certain hormones to add or introduce symptoms which mimic many other diseases or conditions, such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Menopause, Heart disease and Asthma. In addition to common symptoms of flushing and diarrhea, others include generally feeling weak, fatigued, pain, agitated, anxious, dizzy, nauseous, acid reflux, skin irritation, anaemic, weight loss, weight gain, low blood sugar, high blood sugar, heart palpitations, headaches, sweating, high blood pressure.…

17Jul 2018 by Ronny Allan 8 Comments

Neuroendocrine Cancer: Fibrosis – an unsolved mystery?

Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Treatment

Update as at 3rd Feb 2021. Thanks to a grant of $1.2million from the NET Research Foundation, a team led by UK and Netherlands will explore the underlying molecular cause of mesenteric fibrosis, as well as develop new diagnostic and imaging tools to treat the condition. This is great news. Read more here. BackgroundIt has long been observed that certain Neuroendocrine Tumours (NETs) are often associated with their ability to secrete hormones and these substances are thought to be responsible for the collection of symptoms which include (but not limited to) diarrhea, flushing and wheezing. One of the lesser known aspects of this disease is the development of fibrosis, both local and distant. These fibrotic complications may lead to considerable morbidity. They can also result in incidental diagnoses of NETs after…

08Jul 2018 by Ronny Allan 8 Comments

“What are you doing this afternoon”

Awareness

"Don't ignore symptoms because you're too busy at work". I had what was really an incidental diagnosis in 2010 that took around 2 months to be diagnosed from me saying "I think I've lost some weight". This is actually crazy because I had metastatic (Stage IV) cancer and how can cancer get to that stage without any hints? Well, often that's what happens with Neuroendocrine Cancer - it's a sneaky little disease. I didn't hear it coming but there were a few clues. I'm putting that down to my own intransigence, doctors need you to tell them about your issues. However, in 2021, I'm still here. https://youtu.be/n17KUCiFaqU?t=7On 8th July 2010, I was sat in front of a secondary care consultant. I asked specifically for this consultant for two reasons, firstly, he carried…

14Jan 2017 by Ronny Allan 7 Comments

Surgery for Neuroendocrine Neoplasms – to cut or not to cut?

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 - nothing in here should be taken as advice from the author. On paper, surgery remains the only potentially 'curative' option for Neuroendocrine Tumours (NETs) but there are stage, grade and anatomical constraints to that opinion. Many people get 'twitchy' about any inference of the 'C word' (cure) but our most eminent NET specialists use the term frequently including in the major treatment guidelines. I use the word 'curative' with some reservations because for many who are diagnosed at an advanced stage, surgery will not cure but will debulk or cytoreduce as much tumour as possible in order to palliate symptoms and improve quality of life. This is a…

04Jan 2017 by Ronny Allan 4 Comments

Does your body now have an extra organ? The MESENTERY

Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer

One of the very first words I heard at diagnosis was the word "Mesentery". In the news today is the announcement that is now might just be a new organ following accepted findings from research conducted in the University of Limerick Ireland. I always knew it was something which held the small and large intestines in place within the abdomen so like many others, I just thought it was some kind of membrane type structure and I also knew there was some kind of interaction with the peritoneum, another word which I was to become familiar with. This is an important area for NET patients as many will have mesenteric involvement in their disease. I've read reports of a primary mesenteric tumour although it's mainly a site for secondary disease (metastasis). It's no surprise…

08Sep 2016 by Ronny Allan 20 Comments

Serotonin – the NET effect

Diet and Nutrition, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Patient Advocacy

Share on facebook Facebook Share on twitter Twitter Share on pinterest Pinterest Share on whatsapp WhatsApp Share on email Email [caption id="attachment_16272" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Credit background picture: A team of researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have used high-powered microscopes for the first time to view serotonin activating its receptor[/caption]This is an opinion postBackgroundI'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…

23Jun 2015 by Ronny Allan 4 Comments

Surgery is risky but so is driving a car

Survivorship, Treatment

I enjoyed reading an article written by Dr Eric Liu entitled The Complications of Surgery. In his article, Dr Liu, himself a surgeon, explains that surgery comes with risks and patients should be made aware and be able to discuss these risks with their doctors. This got me thinking about my own experience which goes back to the autumn of 2010 when I first met my surgeon. At that time, there were a few articles about whether surgery or 'biochemistry' was the best treatment for certain types, grades and stages of Neuroendocrine Tumours (NETs). To some extent, these debates continue, particularly for pancreatic NETs. Surgery for certain NETs in certain scenarios is a controversial issue for NETs - as outlined in this article - to cut or not to…