Hi 

I would like to share experience with renal cancer. My wife, Kim, discovered she had it in December 2010.For the technically minded it was Grade 3 Papillary renal cell carcinoma type 2 - doesn't mean much to me either.  We lived in Wales so do not be surprised that she was told the tumour was the size of a small rugby ball.  For whatever reason they decided my wife needed to be operated on in London (by a Welshman as irony would have it).  She had a left nephrectomy, left hemicolectomy and spleenectomy on 11/1/11.  Operation lasted about 5 or 6 hours and I remember walking round London in s daze waiting to get back to see her.  It was a surreal experience - I did not feel I was really there.

The surgeon was marvellous and the operation was successful and I remember hom saying to me he thought he had got it all and that there was no sign it had spread elsewhere.  

Some weeks later we were able to return home to Wales and only returned once a quarter for check ups and CT scans. It took a while for her to regain strength but lots of dog walking helped although the trips to London were a bit of an ordeal.

At the beginning of 2012 we found that there were small signs of return of cancer.  .Kim was offered a Trial of two drugs Sutrient and Votrient - she was not given a choice as it was randomized but she went on to Sutrient.  It never really worked and she had total fatigue and after six months was deemed not to be working so they switched her to Votrient (Pazopanib).

Cutting a long story short she was on that from December 2012 until February 2020.    Her slight tumour did not grow or shrink and they were happy with that - so were we. There were lots of side effects that she could live with.  Oddly she had a "cycle" of side effects - sore mouth, then throat, then tummy and so forth and these seemd to recur.  Worst was she had diarrhea much of the time or constipation followed by nausea.  We moved to be near London to cut down on travel which was the hardest thing to do.

Two years ago she had a stroke and they had to stop her Pazopbanib as it contra-indicated with her stroke medication.  She has been off it now for two years andfour CT scans have shown there is still no sign of cancer which they say is either dormant or gone.

So after 11+ years she is a survivor.   

I hope this may give enocouragement to others who have any sort of similar experience