Author: KCCure

Fifteen years later,  I am astonished at how my life has been impacted and changed by a kidney cancer diagnosis. In 2005, I was 45, with a husband and young daughter. After complaining about a hard lump on the left side of my body, I was diagnosed with a 13 cm mass on my kidney. I had a radical nephrectomy; pathology confirmed stage 2, clear cell renal cell carcinoma. There is actually a great pro...

I was diagnosed two years ago with a 12.5cm pt3a n1 unclassified renal cell carcinoma. I went to Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSKCC), where Dr. Russo performed my surgery and Dr. Motzer is my oncologist.  Going into the surgery, I wasn’t really that worried. But when the pathology came back, everything changed. Seeing the words unclassified RCC terrified me. I couldn’t think about anything other than...

I was diagnosed on September 13, 2019 with stage 4 renal cell carcinoma (RCC). When they found it, the kidney mass was over 12 cm. Surgery wasn’t recommended because the tumor had spread to the duodenum and other areas in the abdomen. Internal bleeding had caused my hemoglobin to drop to 5.0, which made me almost pass out – which is what sent me to the emergency room in the first place....

It’s weird how I used to take the small things in life for granted. Like ice fishing. I was on the ice starting at seven, maybe eight years old. My three boys are the same way.  Now they are men. Two of them have moved out of the small town we live in. Having the middle boy drive four hours just to fish with me, his dad, makes me feel like I took a lot of in my life for granted and the way I...

My journey with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) started on February 2, 2017. I had foot surgery on November 30, 2016. During a follow-up exam from this procedure, my physician palpated my abdomen and he told me I had an enlarged liver.  I had an ultrasound to investigate, which showed a 9.5 cm mass on my right kidney.  I had a right radical nephrectomy on April 3rd. Then a left adrenalecto...

My father was diagnosed with kidney cancer in September 2017. He had a radical nephrectomy, removing his left kidney. His six-month check up scans showed that cancer had spread to his lungs and brain. My father died a little over a year after his diagnosis and just a few months before I was diagnosed with the same disease. I was diagnosed with kidney cancer in October 2018. That same month I had a...

In May of 2018, I developed left lower back pain that lasted 3 days. The pain was so severe that when I would take a deep breath, it would just grip me. I assumed it was a kidney stone and went in for a CAT scan. Instead of a kidney stone, the scan showed a mass measuring 2.5 cm on my left kidney. The radiologist thought it was possibly a cyst that had ruptured and suggested an ultrasound to bette...

It is just past 2 a.m. I am sitting in the hospital listening to Steve snore. A bit over 20 years listening to it every night. But right now to me it is just the best sound in the world. Wednesday morning was his nephrectomy. To remove the kidney, open heart surgery, and then I can’t remember the name of the tube from the kidney to the heart but that was filled with tumor as well! There was ...

I found out I had stage 4 renal cell carcinoma (RCC) days after my husband died of esophageal cancer. I never felt so alone in my life. I read the results of a chest x-ray that I had gotten on my six month check-up. Neoplastic abnormalities, including changes associated with metastatic disease. The silence made it hard to breathe. I buried my husband and went the next day for a CT. I didnR...

My name is Scott Johnson. I was a reasonably healthy 58-year-old male until early 2019.  I started feeling fatigued and confused and made an appointment with my GP.  Eventually, he sent me to a hematologist, who ordered an abdominal ultrasound.  In the meantime, I’d had hematuria, and had been to the emergency room, where I was referred to a urologist.   I a...

It is sad when we lose fellow warriors diagnosed with metastatic RCC. I thought I would share my story to offer some encouragement. Nine years ago today I lost my left kidney to Stage 3 RCC. My tumor was the size of a small pumpkin! After surgery, I enrolled in a clinical trial for adjuvant Votrient. I was devastated when I got the diagnosis of metastatic RCC to my lungs two years later. Afte...