Hello Hoop1 and thanks for your post,

Your doctors are probably the best people to go through your pathology with you as they have all your scans and results of your biopsies and can tell you more.

The TNM grading is described on our website. T stands for how big the cancer is, N indicates whether lymph nodes are involved and M indicates whether the cancer has spread to another part of the body. You can also read about the stages of kidney cancer. There are 4 stages in kidney cancer.

As your cancer was described as PT3a stage 3 is the same as one of the following:

T1, N1, M0T2, N1, M0T3, any N, M0

As your doctor has said that the tumour does not look like it has spread to another part of the body but I would confirm this with your doctors.

If you would like to talk through any of this with one of the helpline nurses then you are welcome to give us a ring.

Our number is Freephone 0808 800 4040 and the lines are open Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm.

All the best,

Catherine

Thank you. We have spoken to the oncologist and he has been staged at stage 4 with mets to the lungs. He is currently in South Africa, however is originally from the UK. He left the UK at age 35. If we applied for a Returning Resident visa would he be eligible for immunotherapy treatment? The oncologist in SA has recommended first line TKIs as his tumor is now limited burden post nephrectomy and as immunotherapy is so expensive there, however all the research I have done is saying that a combination/ immunotherapy is a standard first line treatment.