I was told by my Sutter Health docs that I had "benign gastric neuroendocrine carcinoid tumor," who added, "Congratulations! You've got the BEST cancer anyone could have! It'll never metastasize, and will never kill you." When I asked them to explain how to reconcile the words "benign" with "carcinoid. " I never got a reply.

Imagine my surprise when I met someone at an online NET group who had Stage 4 gastric NET that had spread to her liver and bones, and needed extensive treatment, including surgery. I've since left the incompetent GI docs at Sutter, and am being seen at UCSF. They confirmed that all gastric NETs are by definition cancer, and are malignant.

So, to answer your question, I guess I was correctly diagnosed, but by people who had no clue what it is.