Misdiagnosis - Ronny Allan - Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer

09Feb 2021 by Ronny Allan 6 Comments

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…

28Feb 2019 by Ronny Allan 6 Comments

From dying to living, to hell and back

Awareness, Inspiration, Patient Advocacy

I once wrote a post about patient stories, in particular the ones I receive in my private messages. The headline was "The shock effect never wears off". But none have been more shocking than the one I received early in 2019. (edit: After posting this article, I heard of a few similar cases). This is a story about someone who is a private person but felt the need to reach out to me about their diagnostic experience. This person wanted to talk about it, but in private and I was happy to listen. I was so moved by this story, I persuaded this person to let me tell it here whilst retaining their anonymity. Hence referral going forward as 'Patient E'. I just felt that someone somewhere might learn something…

11Oct 2016 by Ronny Allan 9 Comments

Neuroendocrine Cancer – were you irritated by your misdiagnosis?

Awareness, Diet and Nutrition, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Patient Advocacy, Survivorship

Look on any site about Neuroendocrine Tumours (NETs) and you'll find the term IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) frequently mentioned. That's because it's a common misdiagnosis for many before being formally diagnosed with NETs.But what exactly is IBS, why is it such a common misdiagnosis for many NET patients and how can these misdiagnoses be prevented or reduced in future? I just spent a few hours doing an online training course on IBS and I want to pass on some stuff I found to be very useful. I have never been diagnosed with IBS but having researched the issue through some training, I can understand why it might be in the thoughts of a general practitioner for many scenarios. Much of my research was focussed on the British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) who sponsored the online course I completed which also used…

01Dec 2015 by Ronny Allan 6 Comments

My tribute to Wilko Johnson #NeuroendocrineCancer – Rock and Roll Wilko!

Awareness, Inspiration, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer

BREAKING NEWS I recently blogged about a well-known BBC political reporter who has Neuroendocrine Cancer with a Lung Primary. However, in the usual media 'double speak' which can sometimes pervade the coverage of such events, he is said to have Lung Cancer. As I said in that article, sometimes with Neuroendocrine Cancer - the devil is in the detail and you just need to dig to find it. Annoying, we shouldn't need to dig as he doesn't have Lung Cancer. I wrote about this anatomical issue here. This is exactly what happened to Steve Jobs and Aretha Franklin.No sooner had I published the Nick Robinson article, I was alerted to the broadcasting of a film about rock star Wilko Johnson who has the most amazing story to tell. Wilko is…

03Nov 2014 by Ronny Allan 32 Comments

The Human Anatomy of Neuroendocrine Cancer

Awareness

OPINION. Sometimes when I'm searching for cancer information, I'm presented with a 'pick-list' of types which mostly tend to be anatomy based. I do find it annoying when I cannot find my own cancer on the list .....some respectable organisations are just not as up to date as they should be! Neuroendocrine Cancer patients and advocates then have to shout quite loud for recognition and understanding. One of the key facets of Neuroendocrine Neoplasms (NENs) is that they are not tied to a particular part of the human anatomy. Unlike (say) lung cancer, where the primary is in the lung, or breast cancer where the primary can be found in the breast, NENs arise from a cell type which can be present more or less anywhere in the body. Ignorance of…

17May 2014 by Ronny Allan 1 Comment

Dr Google will see you now

Humour, Patient Advocacy, Survivorship

Whenever I need to know anything nowadays, I mostly just look on the internet and sometimes I ask my virtual PA 'Alexa' to look for me! However, you need to be very careful in acceptance of what is credible information and what isn't.As a relatively experienced health blogger and activist, I like to think of myself as 'internet savvy', so I occasionally find myself using 'Dr Google' to diagnose my own aches, pains and unusual feelings (and I confess to using it to help others). I mostly find there are no real or definitive answers online for many patient reported issues. Although I seem to learn something on each piece of research, I also find some really worrying stuff. Some symptoms can have dozens of reasons and I often realise…

Tag: Misdiagnosis