The day my husband was diagnosed with metastatic kidney cancer, I remember thinking, “I don’t want to do this.” I didn’t want to face the hardships that I knew would be in our path – painful treatments, tough decisions, constant uncertainty. I wanted to go back – back to our life before cancer.
Of course, there is no way to go back. There is only forward.
Each day, kidney cancer patients and caregivers bravely move forward. Their paths are not easy – but they have no choice.
Mary and Rick will spend hours driving, braving New York City traffic, to go to his oncology appointment. They are anxious whether his scans will show progressive disease or not. After scans, Rick will meet with another doctor to discuss another invasion and painful procedure.
Nancy was blindsided by a late cancer recurrence twenty-years after her initial diagnosis and surgery. She had to fight with her insurance company to get the scan that found her metastatic disease. Now she is trying to find a new surgeon and wondering where her insurance will allow her to go.
Chase has a rare type of kidney cancer that doesn’t respond well to treatment. He finally found a therapy that is working. But now he is having gallbladder attacks. To get surgery for his gallbladder, he will have to pause treatment for his cancer.
These are real people with kidney cancer and these are the real things they face everyday. They move forward enduring physical pain, treatment related side effects, emotional distress, administrative burdens and financial toxicity.
March is kidney cancer awareness month.
Help honor the path that kidney cancer patients and their families take each day by Marching Forward with them. Put yourself in their shoes this month. Raise awareness about the obstacles they are facing. Help us increase funding so we can March Forward to a Cure.
