Hi Sue!
I too was in the situation of watching waiting, which I did for 6mos. My pnet showed “modest growth” from 1.8 to just under 2cm. I of course pursued surgery. I had a robotic distal pancrectomy. (Definitely easier surgery then whipple .) Surprisingly, it was discovered that I also had 6 of 8 lymph nodes positive.( surprised everyone) as it had not shown up on CT, MRI or Dotatate PET.
In hindsight, as it is always 20/20 I wish that I hadn’t waited for surgery.
My personal believe from experience is that robotic is the way to go. (In the hands of a highly skilled, highly trained, surgeon who preforms these surgeries frequently.) But again, just my personal experience and opinion.
Bottom line for me, is I wished that I hadn’t ultimately waited for 8 mos to have surgery. I had reasoned that I had no symptoms and felt fine. My Drs thought it prudent, so watchful waiting seemed to make sense…..and surgery and it’s unknown outcomes could possibly cause me to actually become diabetic, or have a fistula, or need to take digestive enzymes, all fears that never materialized in my case.
I am now 3 years 4 mos post diagnosis, and 2 1/2 post surgery, get 6 mos MRI surveillance. Still feeling great.
Best of luck to you, there is no one size fits all when it comes to NET. Make the best decision for YOU, get specialized Net Drs on your team to help guide you, and advocate for yourself at all times!!