11 Mar 2026
By Ronny Allan
0 Comments
Cancer: Words are important but so is context

Cancer: Words are important but so is context

Inspiration, Patient Advocacy,
Words are very important to cancer patients, some people hang their hats on them and put their feet up, and some people google them until they are tied in a knot, still fraught with worry.  Why can’t doctors just tell me in layman’s language?  Easy answer ……. because it is not an exact science. Doctors are not robots (…… yet!), they are human beings just like us.  Doctors have different views and they can have different interpretations of long standing terms ingrained in the annals of medicine.  Some doctors have better patient communication.  They don’t have crystal balls, but they…
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24 Dec 2025
By Ronny Allan
8 Comments
15 years of Christmas!

15 years of Christmas!

Awareness, Inspiration, Patient Advocacy, Travel with Ronny, ,
15 Christmas celebrations since diagnosis. A thankful statement My Facebook memories today are full of Christmas activities including my first Christmas following diagnosis of advanced Neuroendocrine Cancer.  I had been out of hospital for only 4 weeks following major surgery in 2010. I remember the whole of my own family attended, my son and daughter's families and 3 grandsons (.... since diagnosis, I now have 4 💜).  Since last Christmas, I celebrated my eldest Grandson's 21st birthday on 3rd Jan 2025, he was only 6 when I was diagnosed.  I also enjoyed celebrating Chris's 70th birthday on 11th December 2024,…
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22 Jan 2025
By Ronny Allan
7 Comments
Surgery for Neuroendocrine Neoplasms – to cut or not to cut?

Surgery for Neuroendocrine Neoplasms – to cut or not to cut?

Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Patient Advocacy, Survivorship, Treatment, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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…
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26 Jul 2024
By Ronny Allan
50 Comments
I’m still here

I’m still here

Awareness, Inspiration, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Patient Advocacy, Survivorship, , , , , , , , ,
I didn't expect to be here but I am I was diagnosed with metastatic Neuroendocrine Tumours (NETs) on 26th July 2010.  Until I arrived at my 5th anniversary, I hadn't thought much about how (or if) I should mark these occasions.  I never thought I would dwell on such things as 'Cancerversaries' but I now totally get why many patients and survivors do. There are several types of 'Cancerversary' that for some, could trigger a mix or range of emotions including gratitude, relief and fear of cancer recurrence or growth. These milestones could be the date of a cancer diagnosis,…
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21 Jun 2024
By Ronny Allan
7 Comments
Neuroendocrine Cancer – not average, just mean

Neuroendocrine Cancer – not average, just mean

Awareness, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Patient Advocacy, Survivorship, , , , , , , , ,
Most people have perceptions of cancer in their heads, fairly fixed perceptions too. They think about all the stuff they see daily on TV, in the main press, and people they know. The big cancers set the scene. Most doctors know about big cancers. They also know how to treat them, many of them have a fairly fixed regime of surgery/chemotherapy/radiotherapy. Many survivors will have side effects of their treatments, e.g. perhaps temporarily losing their hair. More people are now surviving these cancers and many will be declared disease-free or placed into some sort of remission status (no evidence of…
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17 Jun 2024
By Ronny Allan
23 Comments
Metastatic Neuroendocrine Tumours – Incurable but treatable

Metastatic Neuroendocrine Tumours – Incurable but treatable

Awareness, Inspiration, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Patient Advocacy, Survivorship, Treatment, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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 to live for a lot longer".  Fortunately, my wife…
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30 Oct 2023
By Ronny Allan
1 Comment
Piss off cancer – I’m 68

Piss off cancer – I’m 68

Awareness, Inspiration, ,
I started doing the “Piss off cancer” series when I got to 65, mainly because I initially thought I wouldn’t make that age. I was 54 years and 9 months old at diagnosis on 26th July 2010.  For the first few months, I had no idea what the outcome would be.  What I did know at the time, given the final staging, grading, and other damage that was accumulated via various tests, checks, and scans; is that my body had been slowly dying. Without intervention I may not be here now to tell you this tale and who knows what…
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10 Oct 2022
By Ronny Allan
0 Comments
Evidence of disease but stable

Evidence of disease but stable

Inspiration, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Patient Advocacy, Survivorship, Treatment, , , ,
Musings from a metastatic NET patient of 15 years plus In every surveillance session I've had since diagnosis, there was always something to report.  Much of it was old stuff that had been there since diagnosis which they are tracking (incidental findings).  However, there is also stuff that they know is almost certainly NET but not doing much and not threatening me.  That sentence alone probably translates to "stable".  After a surveillance event in 2021, I was awarded the accolade of "reassuringly stable", a status which I was happy to accept! Words are very important to cancer patients, some people…
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02 Sep 2021
By Ronny Allan
6 Comments
In the early days, I thought I was going to die

In the early days, I thought I was going to die

Inspiration, Patient Advocacy, Survivorship, , , , , , ,
Opinion.  It can be extremely hard to face a diagnosis of cancer and with that, an uncertain future. After treatment, there's worry about the cancer growing or coming back after a period of stability.   BUT there is also the thought of dying of cancer.  I think as you get older, you tend to begin to accept death is inevitable, or at least that is how I feel today, aged 65.  I was diagnosed at the age of 54 which I guess in cancer terms, is still relatively young. I also suspect this fear must be multiplied in a much younger…
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30 Oct 2020
By Ronny Allan
9 Comments
Piss off cancer – I’m 67.5

Piss off cancer – I’m 67.5

Awareness, Inspiration, ,
I started doing the “Piss off cancer” series when I got to 65, mainly because I initially thought I wouldn’t make that age. I was 54 years and 9 months old at diagnosis on 26th July 2010.  For the first few months, I had no idea what the outcome would be.  What I did know at the time, given the final staging, grading, and other damage that was accumulated via various tests, checks, and scans; is that my body had been slowly dying. Without intervention I may not be here now to tell you this tale and who knows what…
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17 Nov 2019
By Ronny Allan
2 Comments
Prognostics and Crystal Balls

Prognostics and Crystal Balls

Inspiration, Patient Advocacy, , , ,
When I was being told I had an advanced and incurable cancer, I did what most people seem to do in movies ….. I asked “how long do I have“. The Oncologist said ” … perhaps just months“. 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 to live for a lot longer”. Fortunately,…
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28 Feb 2019
By Ronny Allan
6 Comments
From dying to living, to hell and back

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,…
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01 Oct 2016
By Ronny Allan
1 Comment

Neuroendocrine Cancer: Patient Power!

Awareness, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Patient Advocacy, Survivorship, Treatment, , , , , , ,
There's a saying that the patient is the most underused person in healthcare and I think there's a lot of truth in that. However, I would suggest with Neuroendocrine Cancer, it's less true than for many other cancers. There are so many NET Cancer patients out there who know quite a lot about their cancer, and in some detail. Even the great Dr Liu once said that NET Patients frequently know more about NET Cancer than their doctors. If you go onto Twitter, if you go onto Facebook, if you read newspaper stories, you will find cancer patient stories in…
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