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NET vs NEC
I am sad to report that my dear friend has NEC and not the NET we thought. We have met with the oncology team and she is preparing to have a port implanted so she can undergo the first round of chemotherapy on May 26. We learned that the NEC is a much more fast growing and aggressive cancer than the NET. It is, however, treatable but not curable. I will depart this support group and hope to find one pertaining to NEC (neuroendocrine carcinogen).
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I'm so sorry to hear that. I don't beleive this group is limited to just nets but all neuroendocrine tumors. That being said, there are specifically high grade groups on facebook such as this
https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1HmhkeUj4N/
My prayers are with your friend and you. God bless you for being there for them.
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2 ReactionsWhat is the difference?
NETs are what our oncologist called "well-behaved tumors." NECs are much more aggressive tumors and they grow faster. He told us that when the NEC is diagnosed, no surgery is recommended because the cancer is so spread out.
As I understand it the main difference is differentiation of the cells. NETs are well differentiated and tend. to closely resemble the tumor origin site, while NECs are poorly differentiated and more chaotic in appearance. NETs evidently are less aggressive and respond better to treatment.
I have a grade 3 NET though. Quite aggressive compared to grade 1 or 2, but so far has responded well to treatment. Eventually treatment stops working though, and this happens faster with higher grades.