During Kidney Cancer Awareness Month, visit us at KCCure each day, where we’ll share a new story from someone whose life has been touched by kidney cancer. We share Kidney Cancer Patient Stories to let others know that they’re not alone.
The other day, I was talking to a kidney cancer patient on the phone. Afterward, my 9- year-old daughter Josie asked me why we were talking. I said, “He has cancer, and he’s afraid.” Josie responded, “I hope you told him not to be scared! That he’s going to be OK!”
I asked her to tell me something that scares her, to which she said, “rollercoasters.” Then I asked, “If you were riding a rollercoaster, and I told you ‘don’t be afraid,’ do you think it would work?”
Thinking about it, Josie concluded that it would not.
“But what if I rode the rollercoaster with you and held your hand,” I said. “Would that help?”
Of course, Josie agreed.
In kidney cancer, we don’t have early screening or diagnostic tests. Telling people about signs and symptoms isn’t as useful because when a tumor is symptomatic, it’s often telling us that it’s a more advanced cancer. Instead, we share our stories because it’s a way of magnifying our voice. To tell the world that we exist and that we need more funding for research to find a cure.
Each day in March, visit us at KCCure, where we’ll share a new story from someone whose life has been touched by kidney cancer. Our first story is from Megan Smith, who lost her husband to sarcomatoid kidney cancer, a rare and aggressive form of the disease. But we’ll also hear from newly diagnosed patients and long-term survivors, as well as doctors, researchers and leaders in the medical field who are dedicating their lives to fighting this disease.
Kidney cancer is scary, but we’re all on this rollercoaster together.
