The 50 shades of Neuroendocrine Neoplasms
If you read any authoritative source on this cancer, it will normally begin with "Neuroendocrine Neoplasms (NENs) are a group of heterogeneous tumours .............". The term heterogeneous means diverse in character or content; or a structure with dissimilar components or elements. This is not surprising as these tumours are found in Neuroendocrine cells throughout the vast majority of the human anatomy. And yet, when you look at many hospital/healthcare sites, advocate organisation sites, and cancer information sources not maintained by Neuroendocrine Cancer scientists or specialists, you might start to think there is just one big type of NET and only…
Metastatic Neuroendocrine Tumours – Incurable but treatable
Metastatic Neuroendocrine Tumours - incurable is not untreatable. When I was being officially told I had advanced and incurable cancer, I did what most people seem to do on films/TV ..... I asked "how long do I have". The Oncologist started off with the worst case and that must have been quite a shock because for a few moments after that, I heard nothing - my brain was clearly still trying to process those words - I wasn't even feeling unwell! The really important bit I missed was him go on to say "...but with the right treatment, you should be able…
Diagnosed with Neuroendocrine Tumours: Hurry up and wait
When I was diagnosed with metastatic well differentiated Neuroendocrine Cancer on 26 July 2010, I just wanted them to hurry up and fix my body so I could get back to normal get back to work. My expectations of speed turned out to be wildly inaccurate and in hindsight, it's because I was wildly naïve. With Neuroendocrine Cancer, particularly well-differentiated, low or medium grade tumours, it sometimes doesn't work as fast as you would think and there are very good reasons for that. The complexity of the condition needs some consideration as the physicians work up a treatment plan, when…
Neuroendocrine Tumours (NET) – benign vs malignant
Reviewed and Updated 13th March 2024 One of the most controversial aspects of Neuroendocrine Neoplasms, in particular low grade Neuroendocrine Tumours (NETs), is the 'benign vs malignant' question. It's been widely debated and it frequently patrols the various patient forums and other social media platforms. It raises emotions and it triggers many responses ..... at least from those willing to engage in the conversation. At best, this issue can cause confusion, at worst, it might contradict what new patients have been told by their physicians (....or not been told). I don't believe it's an exact science and can be challenging for a NET…
The Classification, Grading and Staging of Neuroendocrine Neoplasms (incorporating WHO 2022 classification changes)
- Updated 11th March 2024 - This section of my website has been published since 2015 but the most recent update to the World Health Organisation (WHO) Classification of Neuroendocrine Neoplasms is so significant, so gamechanging, that I have re-released the updated text. You may see these important publications called 'Blue Books'. Words are very important in Neuroendocrine Neoplasms (NENs). Nomenclature has important meaning and context more than most other cancers due to the heterogeneity of this group of neoplasms. Grade and Stage are two factors inextricably linked to the nomenclature and while there have been less changes in these…