Small Intestine NETs Archives - Ronny Allan - Living with Neuroendocrine Neoplasms

17Jul 2018 by Ronny Allan 8 Comments

Neuroendocrine Cancer: Fibrosis – an unsolved mystery?

Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Technical NETs, Treatment

Background It has long been observed that certain Neuroendocrine Tumours (NETs) are often associated with their ability to secrete hormones and these substances are thought to be responsible for the collection of symptoms which include (but not limited to) diarrhea, flushing and wheezing. One of the lesser known aspects of this disease is the development of fibrosis, both local and distant. These fibrotic complications may lead to considerable morbidity. They can also result in incidental diagnoses of NETs after causing abdominal obstructions. The most well known form of fibrosis is 'Hedinger Syndrome' (so-called Carcinoid Heart Disease) tightly associated with midgut NETs and will not be covered further. However, mesenteric fibrosis is actually more common and also associated with midgut NETs. There are other less common locations involved including retroperitoneal fibrosis,…

19May 2017 by Ronny Allan 5 Comments

ASCO 2017 – Let’s talk about NETs #ASCO17

Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Patient Advocacy, Survivorship, Technical NETs, Treatment

ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology) is one of the biggest cancer conferences in the world normally bringing together more than 30,000 oncology professionals from around the world to discuss state-of-the-art treatment modalities, new therapies, and ongoing controversies in the field. As Neuroendorine Tumors is on a roll in terms of new treatments and continued research, we appear to be well represented with over 20 'extracts' submitted for review and display. This is fairly complex stuff but much of it will be familiar to many. I've filtered and extracted all the Neuroendocrine stuff into one list providing you with an easy to peruse table of contents, complete with relevant linkages if you need to read more. For many the extract title and conclusion will be sufficiently educational or at least…

06Apr 2017 by Ronny Allan 2 Comments

Don’t believe the hype – Neuroendocrine Cancer Myths debunked

Awareness, Diet and Nutrition, Inspiration, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Patient Advocacy, Survivorship, Technical NETs, Treatment

OPINION. There's a lot of inaccurate and out of date information out there. Some is just a lack of understanding, often with a combination of patient forum myth spreading. Some can only be described as propaganda. Myth 1: All Neuroendocrine Tumours are benign Not true. By any scientific definition, the word 'tumour' means 'an abnormal mass of tissue that results when cells divide more than they should or do not die when they should. Tumours may be benign (not cancerous), or malignant (cancerous)'. Sure, some NETs will be benign. However, The World Health Organisation (WHO) 2010 classification for digestive system is based on the concept that all NETs have malignant potential, and has therefore abandoned the division into benign and malignant NETs and tumours of uncertain malignant potential. This has…

04Jan 2017 by Ronny Allan 4 Comments

Does your body now have an extra organ? The MESENTERY

Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer

One of the very first words I heard at diagnosis was the word "Mesentery". In the news today is the announcement that is now might just be a new organ following accepted findings from research conducted in the University of Limerick Ireland. I always knew it was something which held the small and large intestines in place within the abdomen so like many others, I just thought it was some kind of membrane type structure and I also knew there was some kind of interaction with the peritoneum, another word which I was to become familiar with. This is an important area for NET patients as many will have mesenteric involvement in their disease. I've read reports of a primary mesenteric tumour although it's mainly a site for secondary disease (metastasis). It's no surprise…

21Oct 2016 by Ronny Allan 1 Comment

Neuroendocrine Cancer: Hurry up and wait

Awareness, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Patient Advocacy, Survivorship, Treatment

When I was diagnosed with metastatic Neuroendocrine Cancer on 26 July 2010, I just wanted them to hurry up and fix my body so I could get back to normal. My expectations of speed turned out to be wildly inaccurate and in hindsight, I was also wildly naive. You see, 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 good reasons for that. The complexity of the condition needs some consideration as the physicians work up a treatment plan. I'm quite happy and content they took their time, rather than rush into the wrong decisions. If you think about it, this is an advantage with low and medium grade NETs......you normally have some time to get the ducks…

02Aug 2016 by Ronny Allan 4 Comments

Neuroendocrine Cancer Nutrition Series Part 4 – Food for Thought?

Diet and Nutrition, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Patient Advocacy, Survivorship, Technical NETs

Nutrition is an important subject for many cancers but it is particularly important for Neuroendocrine Cancer. In the previous parts of this series I focused on the following: Article 1 - Vitamin and Mineral Challenges. This was co-authored by Tara Whyand, UK's most experienced NET Specialist Dietitian. This blog provides a list of vitamins and minerals which NET Cancer patients are at risk for deficiencies, together with some of the symptoms which might be displayed in a deficiency scenario. Article 2 - Malabsorption. Overlapping slightly into Part 1, this covers the main side effects of certain NET surgical procedures and other mainstream treatments. Input from Tara Whyand. Article 3 - 'Gut Health'. This followed on from the first two blogs looking specifically at the issues caused by small intestine bacterial overgrowth…

17Nov 2015 by Ronny Allan 3 Comments

Neuroendocrine Cancer Surgery – Small Intestine NET, a patient experience (part 1)

Survivorship, Treatment

8th - 26th November 2010 Memories of my 18 day stay in hospital from 8 - 26 Nov 2010, are not only reminding me of how important that particular treatment was to be, but also how surreal it felt at the time. Some of it is still a blur, particularly the early days where the morphine was in control. For many NET patients, surgery can be a mainstay treatment, even for those with metastatic disease. In fact, I now know from my own research that NETs is one of a small number of cancers for which surgical debulking can in many cases confer some survival advantage in a metastatic scenario. However, the nature of Neuroendocrine Cancer means that treatment and surveillance will need to continue for many patients. Prior to being…

27Aug 2015 by Ronny Allan 22 Comments

Neuroendocrine Cancer Nutrition Series Article 3 – Gut Health

Diet and Nutrition, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Technical NETs

OPINION. Nutritional issues are one of the biggest challenges affecting most Neuroendocrine Cancer patients. It is also a key factor in maintaining a decent quality of life and for most countries without adequate NET Specialist Dietitian support, it remains an unmet need. In this article, I'm discussing the use of probiotics to combat the potential issue of small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) in Neuroendocrine Tumours. When I first indicated this nutrition series was under construction, a few people got quite excited anticipating me to produce advice on what to eat. However, that was never my intention. What people should or should not eat is such a varied problem (or solution?) that anything I said would only really be of help to those for whom it worked - this area is…

14Jul 2015 by Ronny Allan 18 Comments

Neuroendocrine Cancer Nutrition Series Article 2 – Gastrointestinal Malabsorption

Diet and Nutrition, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Survivorship, Technical NETs, Treatment

This 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 malabsorption issues can be caused by other reasons unrelated to NETs. Additionally, malabsorption and nutrient deficiency issues can form part of the presenting symptoms which eventually lead to a diagnosis of Neuroendocrine Cancer; e.g. in my own case,…

07Jul 2015 by Ronny Allan 28 Comments

Neuroendocrine Neoplasms – not as rare as you think

Awareness, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Technical NETs

Background Although initially considered rare tumours up until 10 years ago, the most recent data indicates the incidence of Neuroendocrine Neoplasms (NENs) has increased exponentially over the last 4 decades and they are as common as Myeloma, Testicular Cancer, and Hodgkin's Lymphoma. In terms of prevalence, NENs represent the second most common gastrointestinal malignancy after colorectal cancer. Consequently, many experts are now claiming NENs are not rare (see below). A recent study published on 5 Dec 2018 reports that even if you isolate Small Intestine NETs in the USA population, the incidence rate is 9/100,000. Contrast this against the US incidence rate as at 2012 of 7/100,000 for all NETs. The rare threshold in Europe is 5/100,000 and below. They're not common (in incidence rate terms which means the numbers diagnosed each…

22Apr 2015 by Ronny Allan 41 Comments

Carcinoid vs Neuroendocrine

Awareness, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Patient Advocacy, Technical NETs

OPINION There's a constant debate regarding the validity of the term 'Carcinoid'. I've posted about this a few times and as far as I know, the debate has been raging for some years. You may have noticed that 'Carcinoid' is often used as a standalone word and tends not to be suffixed with the word 'Cancer' or 'Tumour' - unlike Bowel Cancer, Breast Cancer, Prostrate Cancer, Lung Cancer, Brain Tumour, etc. Nobody goes around saying "Breast" or "Bowel" do they? But they happily say "Carcinoid". Unfortunately, the term ‘Carcinoid’ has become entrenched in both pathology and clinical literature over the past 100 years. The main problem with the word Carcinoid is that it means different things to different people. Some use the term almost exclusively to designate serotonin-producing tumours that arise from the enterochromaffin cells that can…