Neuroendocrine Cancer: Troublesome Thyroids
In 2013, just when I thought everything seemed to be under control, I was told I had a 'lesion' on the left upper lobe of my thyroid and that they had been monitoring it for a while. Of course at the time, you immediately assume NET. It was a bit of a shock as I had already been subjected to some radical surgery and wondered if this was just part of the relentless march of metastatic NET disease. However, that would be a simple explanation. The thyroid gland does get mentioned frequently in NET patient discussions but many of the…
Thyroid nodules – something or nothing?
I came across this excellent summary of Thyroid nodules from the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons which links to a similar European one. It confirms much of what I wrote in my blog post "Troublesome Thyroids" in regard to my own thyroid issues. I'm thankful to the AAES for promoting this on social media. I wanted to focus on the issue of Thyroid nodules given I see these mentioned all the time in my online patient group. Clearly, when you already have a cancer diagnosis, the discovery of more issues on top of that is of concern to patients. Many…
Neuroendocrine Cancer – surveillance and follow up
Since 2010 I've had a lot of surveillance and testing. More than people can imagine. I can see from various comments on my public pages and posts within my private group, that some people get a lot more than me and I get more than others. It's not true to say we all get the same, there are many factors including stage, grade, type of Neuroendocrine Neoplasm, healthcare system/guidelines, miscellaneous problems, therapy, and even age.In the first year or two after diagnosis, I seemed to be in a continuous testing phase but that was mainly due to seeing so many…
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…