The sooner any cancer can be correctly diagnosed, the better chances of a complete cure for the person concerned. However, some cancers are not as easy to diagnose as others. Neuroendocrine (NET) Cancer is one of the difficult to diagnose cancers due to the vague symptoms which may be mistaken for other diseases and routine illnesses. With some patients, this may go on for many years. I don't normally pay too much attention…
Neuroendocrine Cancers can sometimes present with one or more vague symptoms which occasionally results in a lengthy diagnostic phase for some. Sure, there can be issues with doctor experience and knowledge that can add to the problem. However, some people do present with multiple and confusing symptoms, some people have comorbidities which can also confuse as they come with similar symptoms and the textbook diagnostics don…
My recent hospital visit brought back some memories as I walked past the Acute Admissions Ward. I thought back to my emergency weekend stay there in July 2010. I've blogged about my diagnosis before but not about this 'incident' which occurred almost immediately prior.
I was well into the 'diagnostic phase', having had all sorts of tests including a liver biopsy. I vividly remember thinking these…
One of the most discussed and sometimes confusing subjects on forums is the staging and grading of Neuroendocrine Tumours (NETs). Mixing them up is a common error and so it's important to understand the difference despite the apparent complexity.
In the most basic of terms, stage is the spread of the cancer and grade is the aggressiveness of the cancer. They are totally different things and an understanding…
I seem to be having lots of "5 years ago today......" moments this week. Following my recent NET Cancer Day awareness blogs which culminated in blog post I woke up on NET Cancer Day, my memories of that 18 day stay in hospital from 8 - 26 Nov 2010 are not only reminding me of how important that particular treatment was, but also how surreal it felt at the time. Some of it is still a blur, particularly the early…
