The Think NENs Global Educational Program for Primary Care Physicians has been launched by the International Neuroendocrine Cancer Alliance (INCA). The Think NENs Global Educational Program for Primary Care Physicians is an online Continuing Medical Education program providing everything primary care physicians need to know about diagnostics, treatment and care of patients with neuroendocrine cancer. The program is free and runs about one hour. It is available in 6 languages: English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.
The goal of Think NENs is to raise awareness of neuroendocrine cancer among primary care physicians. Early detection of NENs is key to earlier diagnosis and more effective treatment. Delayed NEN diagnosis is a global challenge. According to INCA’s 2019 SCAN survey of patients and healthcare professionals:
- The mean time from first symptoms to diagnosis – approx. 5 years globally.
- 46% of patients had stage IV NENs at time of diagnosis.
- 86% of primary care physicians stated to be involved in diagnostics.
The program was created by INCA, with input from NEN experts around the world. The participants included Dr. Elizabeth Zide, an emergency physician in the US.
“I am a doctor! I am a Neuroendocrine cancer patient! Neuroendocrine neoplasms are challenging to diagnose. With vague symptoms, patients are often undiagnosed until they have advanced disease. Early diagnosis is fundamental in changing the direction and outcome of this disease. Clinician education has a crucial role in accomplishing this.”
There are 13 additional complementary videos on most common NEN types, the impact of treatments, genetic NENs and managing NEN patients in general practice. NETRF is a proud member of INCA, which is composed of 37 NEN patient advocacy organizations worldwide.
You can help! Tell your primary care physician about Think NENs. Download the Brochure