Author: KCCure

I was finally diagnosed in 2017 after a couple of years complaining to my Veteran Affairs (VA) doctor that I didn’t feel right. I finally had to leave the VA and go to a private group. They thought I had a kidney stone again. They did a CT and saw a cyst on my kidney.  The “cyst” was there from a scan years earlier but the doctor wanted an MRI. I almost didn’t go, but my girlfrien...

My journey started in June 2019. I was 47 at the time, turning 48 in September. I went out for a run with my wife and came back and urinated what looked like pasta sauce! Needless to say, after a bladder scope and CT scan it was determined that I had a 10 cm x 8 cm x 9 cm mass on my left kidney. Scans also showed a horseshoe kidney as a complicating factor.  There were nodules on my lungs at this ...

On March 2, 2020, I went to the emergency room with what I was pretty sure was appendicitis. A CT scan confirmed the appendicitis but the docs also informed me that I had a 7.7 cm mass on my left kidney. Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC).  I had a radical nephrectomy of my left kidney on March 22 (after sweating out whether COVID restrictions were going to cancel my surgery).  Post surgery, my ...

Brian Rini, MD is a professor of medicine and chief of clinical trials at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC) in Nashville, TN. He is a key opinion leader in the clinical investigation and management of kidney cancer. In honor of Kidney Cancer Awareness Month, Dr. Rini shared some of his views on where the field is today and what we have to look forward to in the future. KCCure: What is the mos...

KCCure is a proud member of the International Kidney Cancer Coalition (IKCC), an independent international network of patient organisations that focus on kidney cancer. Learn more about Marta Szulc, IKCC’s new Executive Director. Tell us about your new role and a little bit about the mission of the IKCC. I was appointed at the beginning of February as the Executive Director of IKCC to pursue...

The first 60-odd years of my life were notably free of health concerns.  Some sinus issues and headaches associated with them, but nothing that caused me to be hospitalized or receive any sort of medical treatment to speak of. I had my first surgery ever in 1984 (age 36) to remove huge bunions from both feet. Otherwise, nothing to speak of. I smoked from my teens until 1984 – the surgery kept me i...

On June 25th 2018, a 16cm malignant tumor was discovered by chance on my left kidney: I had just turned 47 years old. Our family had relocated from Los Angeles to Munich, Germany, just 10 months prior, and our life in Germany was still new to us: Our kids, 6, 9, and 11 at the time, were about to complete their first year of school here, and we had all been looking forward to an easier, more settle...

Bennedikte is a stage 4 kidney cancer patient in Denmark. She shares her thoughts on ‘hope’ and survivorship. Fourteen months ago I found a big bump on my neck, and was diagnosed with kidney cancer that had grown into the liver and spread to the lymph nodes and bones.  So instead of being a healthy 48 year old woman, I am now a stage 4 cancer patient doing life-prolonging treatment. I’...

Clive shares his story of being diagnosed with a small renal mass while undergoing treatment for prostate cancer. Together with his doctors, Clive decided that active surveillance was preferable to immediate surgery. In January of 2020 my wife, Michelle, suggested that I take up painting to ease my mind. Michelle has been involved with acrylic painting as a hobby for many years. I decided her sugg...

I was diagnosed in February of 2017. I had a radical right nephrectomy. I was told it was stage 1 with clear margins, no further treatment necessary.  In June of 2018, I went to the doctor for lower back pain. They found a large tumor on my right iliac. After a bone biopsy, I was told I had stage 4 RCC with metastasis to my iliac, lungs, left adrenal, sternum, and a few other spots that I can...

I’m a 29 year old newlywed with a brand new stage IV kidney cancer diagnosis, hot off the press! Some call my case the Loch Ness monster due to the super rare nature of my subtype but we’ve named the tumor on my right kidney Newman – he’s a big fella (12cm)! It’s been a rough couple of months that’s often felt like pure torture at moments, waiting for my treatment plan and not knowing how ag...