07Jun 2023 by Ronny Allan No Comments
A spotlight on duodenal Neuroendocrine Neoplasms (dNENs)

A spotlight on duodenal Neuroendocrine Neoplasms (dNENs)

A spotlight on NENs - Types
What are Duodenal Neuroendocrine Neoplasms (dNEN)? The duodenum is technically part of the small intestine, and you can find that in most anatomy-based descriptions. One of the research references I used was titled "Somewhere between the pancreas and the small intestine" and in the case of Duodenal NENs (dNENs), I can understand why they adopted that unconventional anatomy description.  I suspect they contextually meant that they are not like either of these organs, but they share some similarities. They are not normally treated like small intestine NETs (SI NETs) or pancreatic NETs (pNETs) but they share some relationships, particularly with the latter.  They are also closely aligned to the stomach (Gastric NENs) in terms of symptoms and syndromes that they sometimes present.  Although they are a type of NEN (i.e. dNENs),…
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18Aug 2020 by Ronny Allan No Comments
Small intestine, large surgery

Small intestine, large surgery

Patient Advocacy, Treatment
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 set up, 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 like…
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