Iron Deficiency Anaemia - Ronny Allan - Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer

Tag: Iron Deficiency Anaemia

Iron deficiency anaemia is a condition where a lack of iron in the body leads to a reduction in the number of red blood cells. Iron is used to produce red blood cells, which help store and carry oxygen in the blood. If you have fewer red blood cells than is normal, your organs and tissues won’t get as much oxygen as they usually would

09Oct 2017 by Ronny Allan 5 Comments

Weight – the NET Effect

Diet and Nutrition, Survivorship

Firstly, let me say that I have no intention of advising you how to lose or gain weight! Rather, I'd like to discuss what factors might be involved and why people with NETs might lose or gain weight either at diagnosis or after treatment. Clearly, I can talk freely about my own experience and associated weight issues. If nothing else, it might help some in thinking about what is causing their own weight issues.I once wrote a patient story for an organisation and the headline was "Did you mean to lose weight". Those were actually the words a nurse said to me after I nonchalantly told her I thought I'd lost some weight (....about half a stone). I answered the question with "no" and this response triggered a sequence of…

14Jul 2015 by Ronny Allan 20 Comments

Neuroendocrine Cancer Nutrition Series Article 2 – Gastrointestinal Malabsorption

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

This is the second article in the Neuroendocrine Cancer Nutrition series. In the first article, I focused on Vitamin and Mineral deficiency risks for patients and there is a big overlap with the subject of Gastrointestinal Malabsorption. Those who remember the content will have spotted the risks pertaining to the inability to absorb particular vitamins and minerals. This comes under the general heading of Malabsorption and in Neuroendocrine Cancer patients, this can be caused or exacerbated by one or more of a number of factors relating to their condition. It's also worth pointing out that malabsorption issues can be caused by other reasons unrelated to NETs. Additionally, malabsorption and nutrient deficiency issues can form part of the presenting symptoms which eventually lead to a diagnosis of Neuroendocrine Cancer; e.g. in my own case,…

26Aug 2014 by Ronny Allan 3 Comments

If your Doctors don’t suspect something, they won’t detect anything!

Awareness, Patient Advocacy

Opinion:One of the most discussed and debated Cancer issues is late diagnosis. Cyberspace is full of disturbing stories and many different cancers are involved. Some cancers are notoriously difficult to diagnose, meaning that awareness and education needs to extend from the general population to healthcare professionals at all levels. The latter is a challenge as first-line physicians battle to deal with thousands of different conditions, many of which have similar presentations. Neuroendocrine Neoplasms have a record of being difficult to diagnose which often leads to late diagnosis. Moreover, due to their often-silent nature, a late diagnosis is often a default scenario as no intervention was possible without a symptomatic patient.Neuroendocrine Neoplasms - Under-diagnosed or Under-reported?Like many other Cancers, Neuroendocrine Neoplasms (NEN) is one of a number of 'difficult to diagnose'…