Finding a kidney cancer specialist can be daunting. KCCure Patient Communities offer excellent opportunities to get recommendations from others. Thank you Kim Bunker for recommending KCCure All-Star Dr. Ulka Vaishampayan.
- Dr. Ulka Vaishampayan
- Medical Oncologist, University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center
- Ann Arbor Michigan
- To Make An Appointment
My husband Aaron was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer in February of 2018. Aaron breezed right through the first three infusions of Opdivo/Yervoy but by the fourth treatment he was very tired, not eating much, vomiting a lot and losing weight fast. His oncologist didn’t know what to do.
That’s when we got the recommendation to get a second opinion with Dr. Vaishampayan. Changing doctors seemed so daunting and going to a specialist would require us to drive over two hours each way. I expected Aaron to be even more reluctant, but to my surprise, he agreed.
Our first impression was WOW!! She was so compassionate, so laid back, so knowledgeable yet so on it! Right before we left, she had him do some blood work. At 11 am she called us personally to let us know that she was calling in a prescription. His adrenals had been compromised by the immunotherapy and he needed the steroid to start to feel better.
He took his first dose on Tuesday at noon. By Wednesday he was helping my boys shovel the driveway and was ready to go out and shovel again. On Thursday he texted me to say that he had eaten a whole Big Mac Meal from McDonald’s!! He hadn’t eaten a whole meal in 2-3 months…He had lost 40 pounds!
It’s been over a year now and Aaron is still in remission from his cancer. Next month, he’ll undergo surgery at the University of Michigan to remove his primary kidney tumor. We know that his work here on earth is not done.
We are so grateful to Dr. V and all that she has done for our family!
