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Renal cancer - Recent diagnosis consuming my mind

Bigmac123
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Hi all , I’d like to share my story so far and looking for some advice

i am 32 years old ,and this week I have received news that has completely turned my entire world upside down, I’m living abroad in beautiful sunny Australia with a wonderfull job , however only one person I can turn to for support, my loving fiancé, 

 I live an active healthy lifestyle , I eat all the right food, I barely drink anymore and practice martial arts 3 times per week, 

 My father passed away 6 months ago after a 4 year battle from secondary oesophageal cancer in spine and lungs which I am still very much grieving for 

a few months ago( around when my father passed) I got some weird flu like symptoms and dizzy feeling that only appeared when I physically exerted myself, got several blood tests and everything came back normal apart from pertussis bacteria (whooping cough) and inflammation markers for which I got anti biotics , these symptoms completely disappeared so I continued working hard and training hard

fast forward 5 months later and I decided to get myself checked for a suspected sports related injury ( bruised rib or hernia) ...when they found a 6.4 upper pole mixed solid cycstic mass on my right kidney...complete shock as I’ve got no symptoms of cancer or any disease . 

Since initial urologist consult , Ive had a body PET CT FDG staging carried out and the tumor has been confirmed malignant due to hot imaging on PET, the type of renal cancer has not been confirmed , the urologist has told me it is localised and has not spread past the kidney tissue and does not appear to have spread to adrenal gland or lymph nodes or organs etc which initially gave me a huge sigh of somewhat relief , he gave me at least 80% chance of being cancer free in 5 years and given my health and lifestyle that could improve significantly . I have been given a lifeline and a radical nephrectomy is scheduled within 4-6 weeks 

however , i suffer from serious health and cancer anxiety and this is basically my worst nightmare all coming true, i can’t help but go over and over in my mind , what if it’s spreading to my bones and brain as we speak, I have pains in my right foot and fatigue that I think may be the cancer spreading , I am scared that the cancer will come back after my surgery and that the scan has missed something , as I am writing this it all seems irrational but my mind is taking over and I can’t take enjoyment out of anything in life without thinking everything is related to cancer and that I’m going to die

I would greatly appreciate if anyone on here could give me some advice, or reliable literature resources on treatment and  ,

Or if anyone has similar diagnosis with positive results

 

 

thanks if you have taken the time to read my story 

yours scincerely ,

mac

 

  • Offline

    Hello Mac, 

    Just wanted to warmly welcome you to our forum. I bet it is nice and sunny in Australia at the moment and it must be a lovely place to live with your lovely fiance. You've done the right thing to join this forum for support as you will be able to talk to others here who may have had the same diagnosis and got to the other side of treatment and they will be able to relate to how you are feeling at the moment and hopefully they will have some useful tips for you on what to expect after the surgery. 

    I know it is understandably a very anxious time for you but it is good news that it was caught and that it is localised and hasn't spread and I hope the urologist's words have reassured you. 

    We have some in depth information on our website on kidney/renal cancer which you can access here. It includes a section on treatment  and in particular on surgery for kidney cancer that has not spread. I hope all this will be of interest to you and will help you prepare for the operation day. 

    If you click on 'search forum' in the blue banner at the top of the page and type in keywords such as 'kidney cancer' or 'radical nephrectomy', you will be able to find other past relevant threads on the subject and respond to any that you wish to engage with. For example, I did a little search for you and found this thread where members like [@Dannii_mul]‍ or [@monicabee]‍ have been sharing radical nephrectomy experiences. [@sazwats]‍ has also been through it all before as you can read here and would be another great person for you to connect with. So you're definitely not alone and I hope you will get chatting here with others who have been or currently are in the same boat.

    We're all here for you anytime you need to talk so do keep in touch and let us know how things go for you. Hopefully you won't need to wait too long for the surgery. 

    Best wishes, 

    Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator

  • Offline

    Hi Mac

    I’ve only just received this notification- sorry.

    I’m guessing you’ve possibly had your nephrectomy by now or very close to it?

    i had a radical nephrectomy of my left kidney and 9.7cm malignant mass in September last year - no evidence of spread to anywhere else so fingers crossed  

    Your mind is a horrible place whilst waiting and possibly afterwards for a while too - I was 48 when diagnosed and have a 11 & 9 year old and thought I would die and never see them grow up - I hated the place my mind took me too BUT i had - and still do - have great faith in my consultant and his team!

    the operation is a scary thought but please take your time with your recovery! It took around 6 weeks for me to feel ‘normal’ and recovered though my mental journey took longer - please be kind to yourself!

    if you’d like to ask anything about the surgery or afterwards, please message me x

  • Offline in reply to sazwats

    Hi sazwats 

    thanks for taking the time to reply . I must say It’s been an emotional few months and fingers crossed now the worst of it is behind me, 

    you are correct i have now had my surgery and am currently 8 days post radical nephrectomy , the surgery went really well and I am feeling really good and really importantly .. my mind is in a better place now that I have had the tumor removed , I’m feeling thankful 

    I am a bit sore around the abdomen but my appetite is back to normal and can feel myself getting stronger every day 

    i am awaiting my pathology results and follow up from the hospital ( this Wednesday ) to confirm what type and grade the tumor was ...( the doctors said I’m too young for clear cell RCC so they are doing some genetic testing )... that is probably playing on my mind a bit.....but hey it is what it is, and it’s not in my body any more so I now have to live my life in the percentile chance that it’s gone and never coming back 

    Thanks

    Mac 

  • Offline in reply to Bigmac123

    Aww I’m glad you’re through that part! Once ‘the ***’ is out then you do feel a little more in control of things once again!

    You’re getting your results quickly - I had to wait 6 weeks - which was mentally a struggle BUT onwards and upwards and we are in a better place than some :)

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