Kidney cancer impacted my life when my brother Herman, was diagnosed with a very rare type of it – Renal Medullary Carcinoma – five years ago in April 2012. I could never forget that day the doctors met with him & my mom to tell him that there was nothing they could do for him. I refused to believe that Herman was going to die. As I stayed up night after night searching for answers and being led down lots of dead ends I realized that someone had to speak up about this. Over the past five years, I have been contacted by countless people who have traveled the same road as us. Many of them never got the chance to begin treatment because, by the time they were diagnosed, it was too late. It made me realize that just because RMC is considered rare, doesn’t mean we are invisible. Many people are young, distraught, and are afraid to speak up. I made a promise to Herman that I would fight not only for him, but for others too. It’s a promise that I have strived to keep.
Out of this struggle, R.M.C. (Renal Medullary Carcinoma) Inc. www.rmcsupport.org was established in 2013, with the purpose to raise awareness of an extremely rare and devastating kidney cancer that primarily affects those with the sickle cell trait. Social Media sites have been developed, and we refer patients diagnosed or having symptoms of RMC to specialists. Through our efforts and those of other organizations and a team of worldwide healthcare professionals the RMC Alliance has been created to raise awareness, collect information, and to promote research of this rare and deadly cancer.