Last week the papers seemed to be full of cancer stories and one that particularly caught my eye was that cancer had climbed to second place on the list of the world’s biggest killer diseases. The statistics were captured between 1990 and 2013 with smoking, obesity and living longer apparently contributing to the rise. Heart disease still has the top spot. It got me thinking about how unlucky it would be to succumb…
When I started blogging in 2014, it was relatively easy - all I needed to do was to talk about my experience to help raise awareness of Neuroendocrine Cancer; then talk about my hike along Hadrian's Wall for a local Charity. The blog was only ever intended to be a temporary supporting tool for the walk and its build up; but I was persuaded by good reviews and viewing numbers to keep it going. That suddenly made it…
Last month I produced a blog post "Stable is my new normal". It's important to emphasise that 'Stable' for me (and many others) does not mean cured - nor does it mean any kind of remission. It simply means the disease is "under control" with tests and scans showing the cancer hasn't changed over time.
With incurable cancers such as metastatic Neuroendocrine Tumours, 'Stable' is normally…
I enjoyed reading the recent blog written by Dr Eric Liu entitled The Complications of Surgery. In his article, Dr Liu, himself a surgeon, explains that surgery comes with risks and patients should be made aware and able to discuss these risks with their doctors.
This got me thinking about my own experience which goes back to the autumn (fall) of 2010 when I first met my surgeon. At that time, there were a few articles…
'The C Word' or 'The Big C' - the subject which must not be discussed. Or is this now an out of date phrase? I read a useful article a month ago where the author debated where we might be if, 50 years ago, we were as open about cancer as we are now (there, I said the word). Nowadays you cannot turn a page in a newspaper without seeing a story of sadness, inspiration or medical science progress. Certainly…
