BOB JK My diary of kidney cancer (to be continued)
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Hi, My name is Bob and I live in Cambridgeshire. I am married with an 8 yr old daughter and three older step sons. Up untill the end of last year everything was tickety boo having recently moved to a new house which we love. Work was busy but enjoyable. I am Manager of an electrical companys maintenance department and my Wife, Linda was enjoying her job as a Nurse. The three boys are buying there own house nearby and all work locally. In November I went to my Doctors with a small "cyst" on my chest. After a couple of referals and many Xrays, pet scans, bone scans and CT scans I was told the news everybody dreads. My lump on the chest was a secondary cancer of which the primary was in my left Kidney. I was fast tracked to the Royal Brompton, under the expert care of Mr Laddas who informed a long and complicated operation would need to be carried out to remove the bone tumor and surrounding bone which involved two ribs,my collar bone and chest bone. I did not have time to panic, the operation was carried out the next day over 10 hrs. After nearly two weeks in the Brompton I am recovering well from this op but I have since been told that the Cancer is in both kidneys as well as small mets in both lungs. It seems at the moment further ops are out the question and i have been put on the drug Sutent. I am one week into this and so far so good. I do not know what the future holds but I have to remain positive.
The shopping trip went as planned . We had a good wander around and got a couple of tops before deciding to have lunch out which was very nice indeed. Since being home I have slept whilst Linda has been trying to finalise the race for life accounts before sending them off. The weather is still lovely over here and looks like it will probably last tomorrow as well. Wound still feeling good and will be checked later on im sure by Linda. Tomorrow the district nursing team are popping in to check it also.
Yes I had a pretty good night and feel not too bad today,
Wound has been checked my district nurse and we all think its probably doing ok. It is seeping fluid very lightly now and the internal wound packing can be further reduced to encourage healing. I did ask how long it would take to heal but then the subject changed to the demise of poor Michael Jackson so I never did get my answer. Linda has been whisked away by friends to see a concert in newmarket so myself and Kate are home alone. Before she went I asked Linda to get my chair out in the garden but any plans of sunbathing have been washed down the drains along with the thunder and rain. I hope it dries up for Linda later though. I am driving for the first time tonight and oicking up Kate from school. I will then take her out for tea as im in no mood to cook.
Had better days, felt really tired and had to force myself out to take Kate out for tea but we had a good time once there. Lindy is still out burning the midnight oil and will be home soon. wound very itchy which is possibly a good sign.
Again forcing myself to do anything but at least a bit better than yesterday. Myself and Kate took Mollie for a walk this morning and as Linda feels a bit "fragile" from her night out we have a low key lazy day whi`ch has been nice. Wound feels as it is `s`till s`lowly improving although it still has a way to go. My main focus is now the impending trip to London on Monday to see oncologist. It will be great to hear of no further bone spread but my mind will not be put at rest untill I have had a further chest and brain scan which will come in time. Either way I need to get myself a bit stronger to deal with whatever the outcome is.
Ah, Bob, I too think itching around a wound is a good sign, certainly usually it is.....just take your time, and gain the energy you will need for Monday!
Managed about 3-4 hours kip. Sleeping tablet does no good at all. Today I will be taking Lindas advice and taking paracetamol to see if it helps with the general discomfort caused by the dressing. Generally I am better but then seem to slipback a notch or two. I managed to eat quite well last night for the first time in a while which was goog and I need to keep that going. I am walking better but need to remember not to try and walk too far, As Linda rightly reminds me, its only three weeks since my second kidney operation and only two months since my first kidney operation. My body is still trying to play catchup. At least I can drive for short distances now which is great. I dont think we have too much on the cards today other than a tad of shopping for essentials.
I hope eveyone else is having a fair weekend and a good share of sun.
Hi Bob, you feel like a friend already because I know so much about you from this wonderful, positive blog of yours. We have been gaining encouragment from it for days & I'm now brave enough to reply because I can offer something equally positive! Tony, my partner for the last 12+ years started peeing blood on Christmas Eve and was diagnosed with "a massive tumour" on 3rd March. He had it removed on 31st March. By then he was quite poorly, had lost over two stones and felt tired and weak. It's now twelve weeks since the op to remove both tumour and left kidney and he's now much fitter, his colour and weight have returned and he's riding his beloved motorcycles again! It's still really early days from your ops, give your body a chance to recover. Although the nodes in his lungs have grown he is due to start Sutent tomorrow. You've given us real hope that it will be worth some of the dire predictions of side effects! All the best with your bone scan, we'll be thinking of you.
First of all I appologise for what will be a shortish entry as i as so tired from my day in London but I am so glad you and Tony have been helped by my blog. I am a positive person, never afraid to push the boundarys, and that along with a little bit of luck is seeing me through this ordeal. I would urge the both of you to keep as positive as possible and tackle whatever is thrown at you head on. I am so lucky in having a great loving and supportive wife, a georgous little girl, three wonderfull step sons who all call me their dad and the rest of my family all rooting for me to win this battle. Tony with yours and other support will do great im sure. The Sutent can be a bit tiring and the side effects a bit annoying but on the whole it hasnt stopped me living. In fact ive done so well on it we were saying today I will have to change my status back from terminal to ongoing treatment. Anyway, good luck and I have accepted your friend request, please feel free to private message me and if it helps Tony could email me. http://share.macmillan.org.uk/Share/Forums/?topic=1005349 is another link to a topic I started regarding side effects. Good luck and speak soon
