I cannot believe that so much time has passed since I heard the words "carcinoid" and "tumours"... back then Neuroendocrine Tumours were not thought of as cancer and thus not thought of as "a serious" disease. I went online, I wanted to know what I was not being told, I was suspicious. I was caring for my (now late) husband who had advance bowel cancer, I felt the need to absorb as much knowledge as possible so I had the tools to challenge what I was being told. I guess it did not help that it had taken five years of several misdiagnoses for me to get to where I found myself, in a consultation room, with an Endocrinologist telling me that I was being referred to Oncology. So my question was, "why Oncology if this wasn't cancer?". And dear reader it turns out it was cancer, it is cancer... it took a while for that penny to drop and for me to start making the relevant arrangements in case my three under aged children were to become orphans. I had to make crucial financial decisions which impacted my career, future plans and outlook. Several major surgeries, invasive procedures, targeted therapies and ongoing monthly treatment means I am still here, beyond all initial prognoses and maintaining as healthy and active a lifestyle as possible. It has been challenging and at times frightening to be confronted with my own mortality, however I am ever grateful for everyone involved in my care and treatment and I keep hoping that as I continue to live there will be further developments in treatments and therapies that will allow me to one day become a grandmother.