Incidental findings and Incidentalomas – NET or NOT
During my diagnostics, I presented to my general practitioner as someone with symptoms of iron deficiency anaemia with some weight loss (not a lot but some). The GP at this point had no alternative but to refer me to secondary care where they had the tools to investigate further - e.g. imaging and endoscopies. The use of laboratory testing and imaging devices are there to not only back up the a doctor's clinical hypotheses but also to test them, i.e. these laboratory tests and imaging checks may lead to others. Differential checks are not misdiagnoses, they are part of the…
Benign liver lesions and cysts – something or nothing?
Background I wanted to focus on two terms "lesion" and "cyst" given these are mentioned all the time in my online patient group, on many occasions by a worried newly diagnosed patient who has just been told (or read before an appointment) this was something found during diagnostic scans. Sometimes cysts are included in the term "liver lesions". Lesion is defined as "An area of abnormal tissue. A lesion may be benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous)". The majority of liver lesions are non-cancerous (benign) and will not be related to Neuroendocrine Cancer, or any cancer. Many lesions are detected during…
Lung nodules – something or nothing?
BackgroundA focus on the issue of Lung nodules given I see these mentioned all the time in my online patient group, on many occasions by a worried newly diagnosed patient who has just been told this was found during diagnostic scans. Sometimes a lung nodule is also called a ‘pulmonary’ nodule and the two phrases mean the same thing.A lung nodule is an abnormal growth that forms in a lung. You may have one nodule on the lung or several nodules. Nodules may develop in one lung or both. Most lung nodules are benign (not cancerous). Only rarely, lung nodules…
It’s been 10 years since I saw a scalpel (….but my surgeon is still on speed dial)
In 2012, I had a bunch of lymph nodes removed. Two separate areas were resected, only one was showing growth but both were showing up as hotspots on an Octreoscan. I had known since shortly after diagnosis in 2010 that 'hotspots' were showing in my left 'axillary' lymph nodes (armpit) and my left 'supraclavicular fossa' (SCF) lymph nodes (clavicle area). Some 10 months previously, I had a major liver resection, and 5 months prior to the liver resection, I had a small intestinal primary removed including work on some associated complications. There had always been a plan to optimise cytoreduction of my…