NET VITALS
WHAT IS NET VITALS?
LACNETS created NET VITALS as a tool for patients and healthcare professionals to share the most important information about a patient’s neuroendocrine tumor (aka NET or neuroendocrine cancer). In just 20 questions, filling out NET VITALS helps you learn the “vitals” of your NET. With all the important information about your disease in one document, NET VITALS gets you and your physician on the same page about your neuroendocrine cancer. Our hope is that NET VITALS will empower patients and improve patient-provider communication.
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Fill out NET VITALS in preparation for your medical appointment and bring it with you.
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Carry it with you as an important emergency document.
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NET VITALS aids with record-keeping and prompts for scan image disks and reports.
Watch to learn how to navigate NET VITALS
NEWLY DIAGNOSED?
Are you newly diagnosed and want to learn the most important information about your neuroendocrine cancer (its “vitals”)? NET VITALS is a guide to biomarkers, terminology, and common procedures and treatments. NET VITALS provides a working document for the patient to understand key vocabulary about their disease and a way to keep track of their status. You are not expected to be familiar with all these terms or know all the answers. NET VITALS may identify questions for you to ask your doctor.
LIVING WITH NETS?
NET VITALS helps the patient keep current on their disease status and more easily communicate with their physician. NET VITALS can be particularly helpful when seeing a new doctor as part of the multi-disciplinary team or seeking a second opinion. It’s a shortcut to communicate the patient’s disease status in a “snapshot” and all in one place.
HOW CAN NET VITALS HELP?
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Prepare for your appointment with your NET specialist by getting organized and compiling your information and records.
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Educate yourself on your disease by understanding how this information relates to you.
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Clarify questions you have for your doctor(s).
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Makes your medical appointment more efficient.
HOW DO I FILL OUT NET VITALS?
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Download NET VITALS here.
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Build your NET INTRO or NET elevator speech, which consists of items #2-6 of NET VITALS.
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Watch the NET VITALS webinar.
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When you encounter unfamiliar terms and treatments, refer to the resources on the last page of the NET VITALS document. CNETS provides an excellent comprehensive patient guide that can be found here.
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Filling out NET VITALS can help identify the information that the NET specialist can clarify. As you complete it, you can build your list of questions to bring to your appointment.
LACNETS thanks Dr. Dan Li at City of Hope for being our Medical Advisor on NET VITALS.
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NET VITALS is featured in the following publications:
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In 2022, NET VITALS was featured in the journal, Pancreas. The study concluded that NET VITALS is a feasible and acceptable self-assessment tool to potentially help patients improve communication about their NET diagnosis/treatment with their physician. Read the full article here.
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In 2023, NET VITALS was featured in the Journal of Clinical Medicine. The article describes a proposed infrastructure for its implementation into standard clinical care in both academic and community practice settings at City of Hope. We hope that incorporating NET VITALS into standard of care treatment for patients with neuroendocrine tumors may improve patients’ overall clinical care experience. Read the full article here.
NOTE: NET VITALS is a document for personal use only. It is not submitted to nor collected by LACNETS. It is a document for you to fill out and take with you to your physician appointment.
This document is intended for informational and educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always consult with your physician or health care provider.