18May 2023 by Ronny Allan No Comments
Neuroendocrine Cancer: Catch them early, not late!

Neuroendocrine Cancer: Catch them early, not late!

Awareness, Patient Advocacy
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, many are found incidentally while checking for something else, or in reaction to a visit to the ER/A&E or as a referral by primary care physicians for further checks at secondary facilities.  A few examples: 1. Most appendiceal NETs are found when patients present with pain in the right lower quadrant i.e. symptoms of appendicitis.  The resulting appendectomy will find the tumour. However, it's true to say that most appendectomies will be connected to appendicitis…
Read More
09Feb 2021 by Ronny Allan 6 Comments
Neuroendocrine Cancer – I didn’t hear it coming

Neuroendocrine Cancer – I didn’t hear it coming

Awareness
A Neuroendocrine Cancer awareness post by Ronny Allan. The sooner any cancer can be correctly diagnosed, the better chances of a curative scenario for the person concerned.  However, some cancers are in the 'difficult to diagnose' category. Certain types of Neuroendocrine Tumours (NETs) are in this difficult to diagnose category due to the vague symptoms which may be mistaken for other diseases and routine illnesses.  However, in many cases which don't seem to make the statistics, it can be incredibly quiet leading to incidental diagnosis including at an advanced stage. It's SNEAKY! Every year the advocacy organisations push out skewed statistics, but few take a wide enough view to get the full spectrum of patient experience.  I accept that in some cases, it can be a little bit noisy via…
Read More
06Nov 2015 by Ronny Allan 8 Comments
Neuroendocrine Cancer – a difficult jigsaw

Neuroendocrine Cancer – a difficult jigsaw

Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Patient Advocacy, Survivorship
A couple of years ago, I received a request from a reader asking if I would write an article about all the symptoms experienced by a Neuroendocrine Cancer patient and how to sort out what is and what isn't associated with NETs.Although I chuckled and raised eyebrows at the request, inside I was genuinely humbled that someone thought I was capable of achieving this herculean task.  I actually gave it quite a bit of thought to the point of compiling a matrix of types of NET, main symptoms, cross-referenced with the symptoms of the most common reported comorbidities. After it started to look like it might be bigger than the Empire State Building, I came to the conclusion that it's an almost impossible task for a wee Scottish guy with…
Read More