A DAD is raising awareness of the “quiet cancer” which most doctors misdiagnose.

Ian Dagg from Brighouse is being treated for a neuroendocrine tumour (NET).

And the father-of-two is determined to educate people about the cancer in the run-up to the first-ever awareness day.

Ian, 44, said: “More than 90% of NET patients are misdiagnosed.

“They are treated for an average of five to seven years for the wrong condition – usually for irritable bowel syndrome.

“That’s why it’s so important to raise awareness.”

NET strikes at the endocrine system, a network of glands that produce hormones. Two people in 10,000 suffer from the cancer, which can affect anywhere between the throat and the lower torso.

Ian explained that NET is hard to detect.

He said: “They call it the quiet cancer because it doesn’t have symptoms at first. Once it gets to a certain size it spreads to other parts of the body.

“Mine started in my bowel but has spread to my liver.”

Ian was diagnosed in April, 18 months after developing symptoms including diarrhoea and dry flushes.

He said: “I was referred to the gastroenterology unit at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary and they were fantastic, they knew to test me for NET.

“It was a total shock when I was diagnosed. I thought ‘why me?’

“Then comes acceptance – but not resignation.”

Ian lives on Long Ridge in Brighouse with his wife Bernadette, 49. The couple have two children, Andrew, 25, and 18-year-old Emmalea.

Ian will undergo radiation therapy at Liverpool Royal Hospital later this month.

He said: “The radiation will reduce the symptoms and will slow down or even stop the growth of the tumour.

“I’m definitely optimistic. There are people who have had radiation therapy for 10 or 15 years and are still going.”

But Ian stressed that early diagnosis is the key to beating the disease.

“If you can get it before it spreads, the chances of it coming back are quite low,” he said.

“If you go to see your doctor about changes in your bowel movements, you should ask them if they’ve heard of NET – some of them haven’t.

“If you don’t suspect it, you can’t detect it.”

The first Worldwide NET Cancer Awareness Day takes place on Wednesday.

For more information visit www.netcancerday.org.