Surgery for Neuroendocrine Neoplasms – to cut or not to cut?
Surgery can sometimes be a tough call (......to cut or not to cut?) I see a lot of patients asking very specific surgical questions in my group (and also direct messages to me). Some ask outright "should I get surgery" and that is a very difficult question for anyone to ask, and should be something directed at their own doctors. If they lack trust in their doctors, they should seek a second opinion. All I can do, along with others in my private patient group, is to let these people know about our own experiences. 'To cut or not to…
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…
A review of July 2023 on RonnyAllan.NET
On my website RonnyAllan.NET, July was a bit quieter mainly due to my holiday and other commitments. However, there was still significant support within and without the community. Below, I'll list the top performing blog posts in July, I can assure you there is some great information in there, and you may have missed some of my newest blogs which made it to the top 10. Number 1 is the story of US Representative Joaquin Castro, great diagnostic story and showing signs of being vocal about NET and the US healthcare system to a much wider audience - this is…
NET Specialists, Multidisciplinary Teams (MDT) and Centres of Excellence
NET Specialists, Multidisciplinary Teams (MDT) and Centres of Excellence - a summary from Ronny Allan What is a NET Specialist? "What is a NET Specialist" is a frequently asked question but there's no official definition of what constitutes a "NET Specialist", and it may differ from country to country/from region to region. Similarly, many people ask what makes a doctor an expert and that is a difficult question but let's just say specialist and expert are the same thing given there is no exam or special qualification to become one. In the broadest sense, a NET Specialist is a doctor…
Chasing normality
Cancer isn’t always a one-time event. It can be a chronic (ongoing) illness, much like diabetes or heart disease. Cancer can be closely watched and treated, but sometimes it never completely goes away. The cancer may be 'controlled' with treatment, meaning it might seem to go away or stay the same, and it doesn’t grow or spread as long as you are getting appropriate treatment. Sometimes the treatment shrinks the cancer, but the cancer is still there – it doesn’t go away and stay away – it’s not cured. More people are living with cancer than ever before and the ratio…