Celebrity News, Neuroendocrine TUmor, Patient Experience
Famous people who suffered from Neuroendocrine Tumors
Here is a list of famous global figures who had been diagnosed with Neuroendocrine Tumors. While all of them battled this rare disease bravely, some managed to come out as victors while others succumbed to it.
Neuroendocrine tumors are cancers that begin in specialized cells called neuroendocrine cells. Neuroendocrine cells have traits similar to those of nerve cells and hormone-producing cells. Neuroendocrine tumors are rare and can occur anywhere in the body. Since they are rare and not widely known, general public still mostly lacks awareness regarding them. This often leads to late diagnosis and delay in treatments. Infact, oftentimes, NETs are detected while running tests for other health conditions.
Here is a list of Global Figures who were also diagnosed with NETs-
1. Steve Jobs, founder of Apple
In 2003, doctors diagnosed the larger-than-life CEO of Apple with a rare neuroendocrine tumor. This was not actually pancreatic cancer, but a different type that happened to start in his pancreas. Surgeons tried to remove it, but it came back and spread to his liver. Jobs stepped down as Apple's CEO in August 2011, and he passed away from the disease on Oct. 5 of that year.
2. Aretha Franklin, American Singer
A neuroendocrine tumor in the pancreas, like the one that took the life of Steve Jobs, also struck the legendary Queen of Soul. She had faced health problems for several years but had kept details about her illness a secret. Franklin’s last performance was for the Elton John AIDS Foundation on Nov. 2, 2017, in New York City. She died on Aug. 26, 2018, at age 76.
3. Susan L. Anderson, Author and Cancer Awareness Activist
Susan suffered from severe stomach pain, vomiting, and bowel problems that baffled her physicians for 8 years despite exhaustive testing. Then, during a 1995 operation to treat a blockage in her small intestine, surgeons discovered a carcinoid tumor. Carcinoids are a type of neuroendocrine tumor that ranges from benign, quiescent, and usually undetected to malignant, physiologically active, and life-threatening. Following her experience, she went on to Research Carcinoid/ Neuroendocrine Tumors, put up the first website for these cancers by a patient in April 1997 www.carcinoidinfo.info and became an activist for Carcinoid/NETs awareness.
4. Wilko Johnson, R&B musician
Former member of the pub rock/rhythm and blues band Dr. Feelgood, guitarist Wilko Johnson was diagnosed with Pancreatic Neuroendocrine tumor in 2012. The 67-year-old was initially given 10 months to live after rejecting chemotherapy, but later had radical surgery to remove the tumour and is now cured.
5. Nick Robinson, Journalist
Nicholas Anthony Robinson is a British journalist, currently a presenter on the BBC's Today programme. In March 2015, the BBC's political editor, Nick Robinson, underwent surgery to remove a bronchial carcinoid tumour from his lung. The surgery successfully removed the tumor however it left Nick with a paralysed vocal cord, which meant that he had no voice at all. Thereafter he underwent intensive voice therapy to get his voice back under the guidance of a speech and language therapist.
6. Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy's Hamburger
Rex David Thomas was an American businessman, philanthropist, and fast-food tycoon. Thomas was the founder and chief executive officer of Wendy's, a fast-food restaurant chain specializing in hamburgers. Thomas had been afflicted with a carcinoid neuroendocrine tumor for a decade, before it metastasized to his liver. He died on January 8, 2002, in his home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at the age of 69.
7. Dag Kittlaus, co-founder of Siri
Dag Kittlaus is the CEO and co-founder of Viv. Previously, he was the Co-founder and CEO of Siri after spinning the technology out of Stanford Research Institute in 2007. In 2016, during a routine body check-up he was diagnosed with a 'lemon sized' tumor in his pancreas. Early diagnosis and eligibility for surgery helped him in total recovery.
