Hello...

It seems Ayshea is no longer here so I really hope someone answers my reply.  Oddly you posted this the year we got married but now, in 2019 I’m at the start of your journey as you wrote about it above.  My husband was diagnosed with stage 3b M0 N0 renal cell carcinoma in April.  His tumour was a fair bit larger than his kidney, it was into the adrenal gland and for “fun”, he had a blood clot in the vein running through his kidney.  His surgery was apparently successful but they have a new way of staging so my staging above means his cancer is between stage 3 and 4, and there are no known metastasis or lymph node involvement. 

My husband was told immediately that he had a bit less than 50% chance of living five years.  They also said his recurrence rate was at least 40% due to it reaching the adrenal gland. They insisted he try to qualify for a trial called RAMPART which is treatment by immunotherapy.  After jumping through every hoop to qualify, he was accepted and as it’s not a blind trial he was told how he was randomized.  He is receiving two immunotherapy drugs and a new scan every four months. He had his first infusion of each drug and a week later was in the hospital for extremely severe colitis. 

My husband is a GP himself so he’s seen lots of people with cancer over the 20 plus years in practice. 

I’m petrified.  His trial treatment is a year long and it literally says at the top of his information that it’s for high to highest risk patients. When he tried to return to work this week, his only other partner in the practice chose to take his SECOND 3 week holiday in three months. He went on one the week my husband had his nephrectomy  in May. ***!  Now, as they want my husband off work another two weeks , he’s being treated like a pariah. Keep in mind, he’s one of only two partners and only two full time doctors. Other help comes from two part time salaried doctors who refuse to work extra, and a nurse practitioner who wants higher pay all the while he’s feeling guilty for trying to live!

Can anyone be boldly honest with me, do they know a stage 3 or 4 kidney cancer patient who survived past the 5 years.  Like you Ayshea, I’m walking on eggshells and for us it’s been onli

any honest response would help me prepare either way.

i hope, Ayshea, and her husband is okay. Keeping a positive thought for you all. 

Thank you SO much 

cari

Hi Cari. I'm going through same journey as you. I'm still in shock. My husband is also in the medical profession. 

How are you and your husband? Sending positive thoughts. 
 

Hi Cari. I'm going through same journey as you. I'm still in shock. My husband is also in the medical profession. 

How are you and your husband? Sending positive thoughts.