Steatorrhea - Ronny Allan - Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer

Tag: Steatorrhea

Too much fat in your faeces is called steatorrhea.

It can be a sign of malabsorption. This means your body either isn’t absorbing nutrients properly or isn’t making the enzymes or bile needed to digest food effectively.

If you have steatorrhea, your stools will be:

bulkier
pale
foul smelling

They tend to float because they have a higher gas content. The stools also tend to be covered in a greasy film. You might even see drops of oil in the water inside the toilet bowl.

11Jan 2018 by Ronny Allan 29 Comments

Neuroendocrine Cancer and Pancreatic Enzyme Replacement Therapy (PERT) – the Digested Version (Nutrition Series Article 5)

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

After 7 years of avoiding pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT) since diagnosis, I finally asked for some on a trial basis at the end of 2017. To be honest, for some time, I thought they were really only needed in the NET world for those with pancreatic issues (pNETs). I've always known I've had some digestive issues related to malabsorption. However, I'm not losing weight - this has been stable for some years (but see below). Plus, my key vitamin levels (B12 and D) were in range. However, I had been struggling with a lot of bloating issues, thus the trial. You know me, I like to research and analyse such things! I've actually written about a lot of these issues in my Nutrition series ..... so this is now 'Article…

15Sep 2016 by Ronny Allan 19 Comments

Neuroendocrine Cancer – the diarrhea jigsaw

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

Diarrhea can be a symptom of many conditions, but it is particularly key in Neuroendocrine Tumour (NET) Syndromes and types, in particular, so called Carcinoid Syndrome but also in those associated with various other NET types such as VIPoma, PPoma, Gastrinoma, Somatostatinoma, Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma.Secondly, it can be a key consequence (side effect) of the treatment for Neuroendocrine Tumours and Carcinomas, in particular following surgery where various bits of the gastrointestinal tract are excised to remove and/or debulk tumour load.There are other reasons that might be causing or contributing, including (but not limited to) endocrine problems such as hyperthryoidism, mastocytosis or Addison's disease (which may be secondary illnesses in those with NETs). It's also possible that 'non-sydromic' issues such as stress and diet are contributing. It could be caused by…

14Jul 2015 by Ronny Allan 20 Comments

Neuroendocrine Cancer Nutrition Series Article 2 – Gastrointestinal Malabsorption

Diet and Nutrition, Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Survivorship, 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,…

03Feb 2015 by Ronny Allan 25 Comments

Lanreotide – Four more years

Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Patient Advocacy, Survivorship

This post has been superseded by the following: Lanreotide: it's calling the shots - click here. Lanreotide: 10 more years please! - click here. Lanreotide vs Octreotide - click here. Original post: The UK general election steps up a gear this month and social media is playing a huge part in the debate leading up to 7 May 2015. In the USA, the different parties are busily working on their candidates ready for 2016. It appears that politicians worldwide, are keen to exploit all areas of communication to eke out votes from the young and old who now use social media on a scale which makes 4 or 5 years ago look prehistoric. In 2012, Barack Obama's 'four more years' tweet was the biggest retweeted post ever up to that point after he thanked his 22 million…