Neuroendocrine Cancer Awareness

  • The Mother of all Surgeries

    My plan for this week’s blog was to continue with a surgery theme using the story of a lady who had what was described as the“Mother of all Surgeries” after being late diagnosed with a very rare and advanced appendiceal cancer.  I had a draft in outline before Christmas ready to update and publish early Jan.  However, I’ve been carefully watching the story unfold about the death of respected ESPN anchor Stuart…

  • Neuroendocrine Cancer Nutrition - Vitamin and Mineral Challenges

    Despite learning early on in my journey that nutrition was going to be a challenge, I sensed the initial focus of my treatment was on getting rid of as much tumour bulk as possible and then controlling (stabilising) the disease through monitoring and surveillance. Clearly I'm happy about that! However, it eventually became clear that the impact of this constant treatment/controlling, meant that some of the less obvious…

  • Neuroendocrine Cancer - Incurable vs. Terminal

    When I was being officially told I had an advanced and incurable cancer, I did what most people seem to do on films/TV ..... I asked "how long do I have".  The Oncologist said " ... perhaps just months".  That must have been quite a shock because for a few moments after that, I heard nothing - my brain was clearly still trying to process those words.   The really important bit I missed was him saying "..…

  • Neuroendocrine Tumours – benign vs malignant

     

    One of the most controversial aspects of Neuroendocrine Tumours (NETs) is the ‘benign vs malignant’ question.  It’s been widely debated and it frequently patrols the various patient forums and other social media platforms. It raises emotions and it triggers many responses ….. at least from those willing to engage in the conversation. At best, this issue can cause confusion, particularly to those…

  • Neuroendocrine Tumours – Carcinoid Crisis

    NET Patient Foundation wallet card (example guidance)

    The word ‘crisis’ has a wide range of meanings and it’s well used in the media to catch the reader’s attention. Lately, the terms ‘political crisis’, financial ‘crisis’ and ‘constitutional crisis’ appear almost daily in media headlines. In a previous life, the term ‘crisis management’ was used daily…