Did you hear the one about the constipated NET patient?
In my neck of the woods, "did you hear the one about the ........." is normally a precursor to a witty comment, or a joke. However, constipation for NET patients is not actually funny - read on. Certain types of Neuroendocrine Cancer are very heavily associated with diarrhea, either as a symptom of one of the NET Syndromes (yes there is more than one .....); or as a result of surgery or certain other treatments. Occasionally, these symptoms and side effects can all combine to make it quite a nasty and worrying side effect. I must admit to being surprised to…
Neuroendocrine Cancer Nutrition Series Part 4 – Amines: Food for Thought?
Neuroendocrine Cancer Nutrition Series Part 4 – Amines: Food for Thought? Reviewed and updated 23rd January 2024 Background Nutrition is an important subject for many cancers, but it can be particularly important for many Neuroendocrine Cancer patients. When I started writing my nutrition series (listed below), I said that my intention is not to tell you what to eat, even though that might be a challenge for many, and this theme continues. The issue with Nutrition and Diet, in general, is that it's very individual and what works for one may not work for another. Often the the best diet…
Neuroendocrine Cancer Nutrition Series Article 3 – Gut Health
In this article, I'm discussing the use of probiotics to combat several issues including the general health of the 'gut' including IBS like symptoms, and the potential issue of small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), all of which may be related in some way to Neuroendocrine Tumours. That said, these issue may be regular conditions, nothing to do with NET. Nutritional issues are one of the biggest challenges affecting most Neuroendocrine Cancer patients and nutrition and gut health can become more important issues. It is also a key factor in maintaining a decent quality of life and for most countries without…
Neuroendocrine Cancer Nutrition Series Article 2 – Gastrointestinal Malabsorption
Neuroendocrine Cancer Nutrition Series Article 2 – Gastrointestinal Malabsorption is the second article in the Neuroendocrine Cancer Nutrition series. In the first article, I focused on Vitamin and Mineral deficiency risks for patients and there is a big overlap with the subject of Gastrointestinal Malabsorption. Those who remember the content will have spotted the risks pertaining to the inability to absorb particular vitamins and minerals. This comes under the general heading of Malabsorption and in Neuroendocrine Cancer patients, this can be caused or exacerbated by one or more of a number of factors relating to their condition. It's also worth pointing out that…
Midgut neuroendocrine tumor patients have a depleted gut microbiome with a discriminative signature
What is the gut microbiome? According to Cleveland Clinic, your gut microbiome is a microscopic world within the world of your larger body. The trillions of microorganisms that live there affect each other and their environment in various ways. They also appear to influence many aspects of your overall health, both within your digestive system and outside of it. If you read their summary here, you can understand some of the implications of this study. However, as the study concluded, midgut NET patients have an altered gut microbiome which could suggest a role in NET development and provide novel targets…
Low FODMAPs – The NET Effect
Background Many people with NET have had issues prior to diagnosis and then continue to have similar issues after. For some it will be either one, i.e. no issues before but issues after or vice versa. However, it's even possible that some people have will have different issues after diagnosis than they had before, e.g. the side effects of the treatment will produce new problems for those people. In the early days, I once said to my Oncologist "I was never misdiagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) but I sometimes feel like I have it now". IBS is said to…
Fructose intolerance – the NET Effect
Background When I cast my mind back to my very first surgery, I remember all sorts of 'plumbing' issues but was told it would take a while for my adjusted plumbing to repair and do its work once more. It's not gone fully back to normal, but I accept minor side effects of getting rid of cancer (metastatic with small intestine NET primary). My diet is slightly different nowadays as I endeavour to return to that normality, and I have a good handle on what makes me move faster AND slower. Constipation is not good either, so I try to find a…
Neuroendocrine Cancer Diarrhea- building the jigsaw: Bile Acid Malabsorption
Before progressing, I wanted to emphasise this is not necessarily the same type of malabsorption caused by exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) which can potentially lead to something known as steatorrhea (amongst other things) but it can produce the same effect. Steatorrhea is different from bile acid issues and is more related to fatty acids. But it's another piece of the diarrhea jigsaw. Bile Acid Malabsorption (BAM) and Bile Acid Diarrhea (BAD) Post-surgical diarrhea is probably something to expect in the early days and after time, adjustments can be made to cater for these side effects. With NETs, particularly where there…