Vitamin B12 Archives - Ronny Allan - Living with Neuroendocrine Neoplasms

30Jan 2018 by Ronny Allan 1 Comment

I now take food with my medicine!

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

If you want to strike up a friendly conversion with a Brit, ask him or her about the weather - we're really famous for our weather conversations and they normally focus on rain or clouds! However, despite the famous British 'reserve' and 'stiff upper lip', they also frequently talk about being 'under the weather', a phrase meaning slightly unwell or in low spirits. I find myself smiling at some of the conversations I hear in medical establishment waiting rooms, particularly the potentially long wait for blood tests. Here, conversations bypass the weather and focus on being under the weather! I thought I was a regular when I started to recognise people in the queue (line!) and their pill conversations. Statements such as "Yes, I just started a 'blue chap' "…

20Dec 2017 by Ronny Allan 5 Comments

Neuroendocrine Cancer – surveillance and follow up

Living with Neuroendocrine Cancer, Patient Advocacy, Survivorship

If I had a pound for every time I've said "make sure you get good surveillance and follow up", I'd have a lot of pounds! Most Neuroendocrine Tumours are slow-growing and they can be difficult to diagnose due to their sneaky nature. Some can be just as sneaky beyond diagnosis though. The best way to combat that is through regular surveillance or 'follow-up'. There are actually guidelines and recommendations for follow-up on the main NET specialist societies such as ENETS, NANETS and UKINETS. There's others including in USA, the NCCN also have a set (and no surprises that the different organisation guidelines can often differ due to the healthcare systems in place). For more detailed or the latest guidelines content, you may need a login or in one instance (ENETS)…

18Oct 2016 by Ronny Allan 19 Comments

Did you hear the one about the constipated NET patient?

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

[caption id="attachment_7646" align="aligncenter" width="591"] did you hear the one about the constipated NET Patient?[/caption] 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 find myself with feelings of constipation from around 4-5 years after my treatment and I set…