Carcinoid Syndrome

Carcinoid syndrome is essentially a disease of the endocrine system. It is a series of symptoms that happens when tumors form within this system. The symptoms appear when there is too much serotonin being produced via hormonal changes caused by the tumors.

Carcinoid Syndrome Prognosis:

Carcinoid syndrome is curable but the tricky part of it is--the symptoms generally don’t appear until the tumors have spread. So, it is best to have the proper testing to locate the primary tumors along with any secondary tumors to make sure to get it all.

Carcinoid Syndrome Symptoms:

The symptoms can be mistaken for a lot of harmless conditions. The list is below and you will see how simple and common they are.

• Flushing of the skin that may or may not be felt. In other words, you may have a friend notice you’ve gone pale.
• Diarrhea: This is usually triggered by other things which is what makes the symptoms easy to ignore.
• Heart palpitations
• Wheezing
• Shortness of breath

Carcinoid Tumor Facts

The Carcinoid syndrome happens in maybe 10% of the people who have the tumors. This happens because the blood that comes from the digestive tract will flow into the liver and this takes any hormones out of the picture. Only when the tumors reach the liver do they begin to have hormonal leakage and hence the symptoms of carcinoid syndrome show. Carcinoid syndrome is often misdiagnosed because it takes on the same symptoms of IBS and other gastrointestinal disorders.

Carcinoid tumor treatment:

As we said--carcinoid tumors are treatable and there are several options open to a person with them. Here, we will also explore holistic treatments as well as traditional options so you can make an educated decision as to how you would like to proceed.

The treatment as in any other kind of cancer is treated depending on the location of the tumors. Surgery may be an option but then there are some cases where surgery is not an option. So other forms of treatment are available. Hepatic artery embolization, cryotherapy and ablation are all treatments available that are normally used on larger tumors.

Surgery for removal of the primary tumor is a must--and the surrounding lymph nodes. There are some locations in the body such as the liver that can only be able to have a partial removal but up to 90% may be possible depending on size. Of course, radiation and medication are available, but for those who catch it early enough--you can try a lot of natural anti tumor treatments that have proven successful. To go this route, consult a holistic physician for carcinoid tumors and for carcinoid syndrome.