Hello and thanks for posting,

I am sorry to hear about your ex husband, this must be a difficult time for you all. I can understand you wanting to hear from others who may have been or are in a similar situation to your ex but as you have posted on the nurses thread you might get some more responses by posting on another thread too.

From what you have said it seems the doctors are waiting for the biopsy results before deciding on the best treatment for your ex to have. Targeted or biological therapies (including immunotherapies) are  often used for advanced kidney cancers ( cancer that has spread to other parts of the body). You can read more about these here and the commonly used immunotherapies with kidney cancer here. 

Unfortunately all cancer treatments come with possible side effects and no one can predict how any one patient will be as the side effects can vary from patient to patient. Many patients are able to continue with work and other activities during treatment but as I say until he starts treatment no one can say how he will be. All treatments are listed at this link, so once you know the name of the drug/s he is going to have, you can read about the most common known side effects as well as more rarer side effects. 

The way people respond to treatment can also vary because no 2 cancers are exactly the same. The doctors by looking at the biopsy sample will be able to identify any gene mutations in the cancer cells that can be targeted by an particular immunotherapy drug/s.  Treatment can start working quite soon but your ex's doctors will be keeping a close eye on him and what the cancer is doing at regular intervals. Ironically side effects when on immunotherapy can be a good indicator that it is working but it will usually be scans that will show how successful a treatment is. 

As difficult as it must have been for you both telling your son, it is good that he knows what is going on. There is information on our website about supporting children and young children when a parent has cancer here that you may wish to take a look at. 

I hope this is helpful, please get back in touch if you have more questions, or if you would like to talk things through with a nurse on our helpline the number is 0808 800 4040, we are here Monday to Friday 9am till 5pm.

Wishing you all the very best,

Naomi