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.
Hi loopy lou and jackton and thanks for your good luck messages.
Today has been a day of mixed feelings as I have had further spread of brain mets but at least this time there is only a very small amount. 2 could be seen on todays scan with another suspect area as well. Its a bummer as I have to go through the process of Gamma Knife again but at least they are all in treatable positions which is good. My slight concern is wether the Sutent is still working as mets are actively growing and I guess next weeks scan will determine that. My Oncologist did say at our last meeting that Sutent was inconclusive on brain mets. Im not particularly phased by it as I did expect this result, in fact I thought there would be more of the little buggers. I go back to the Crompton in two weeks time to have them zapped again. On a real positive note , the ones already treated have remained the same which is good news.
Saw your note about this on f/b, Bob, tough but at least they are treatable, and you know exactly what this is like now.....sorry it has happened but glad they are small and the ones treated are the same. Let's hope that any others are now shrinking with the Sutent.
Sorry to hear your latest news Bob we all hope for the mets to disappear on scans but it rarely happens completely eh? At least there is further treatment on offer, which is better than it has been for some in the past and at least doctors now have more to hand to fight this bl--dy cancer! Hopefully by Christmas you will have been treated and be on the road to recovery again so can enjoy the festivities with friends and family!
Im doing well this morning after a really good nights sleep. It seemed a long day yesterday and Linda and myself were both really tired by the time we got home. As usual Linda did brilliantly on the driving through London and im really proud of her. A lot of men I know hate the London driving so she does really well. I am not down beat about the news Jackie, it was actually better than I was expecting and I think its just the thought of having my head drilled again whilst fully awake that does not particularly appeal to me. The gamma knife has been planned to work in with my Sutent breaks otherwise the brain guy would have rather waited a month before carrying out gamma knife. Last time it all happened so quickly I did not have time to think about it but this time I know how horrible it will be. Its back to london for the other scans next week and the results will define wether the Sutent is still working which will be a good point to get past. It is certainly giving me the same effects as before so I presume thats a good sign anyway. Im off to work for half a day today and then I plan to hit the decorating this afternoon and over the weekend. I need to keep going whilst I can and will not rest in any shape or form untill I have achieved this. oooops loo needed again, must go, literally lol.
As you say, a real mixed bag following your results, but they are small and treatable. Fingers crossed for the next lot of treatment, I am certain your positive attitude is playing a non-too-small part in all this. Enjoy your weekend, don't overdo it, (I'm sure Linda won't let you in any case!). Much love to you, Linda, and Katie.
I am really enjoying my weekend. Linda, Justin and myself are busy painting. Normally I would not accept all the help I am getting but I have no choice as I just cannot do it any more. I am fine on light painting such as doing all the edges but when it comes to physical work like moving ladders and sanding down walls it totally knackers me up. I find it so frustrating. I had a fair nights sleep in between getting up for the loo every half hour. My tummy is still unsettled but seems to be calming for the moment. If my bum gets much more sore I will need to use a wet wipe and a hair drier lol. back to the decorating.
Hmmm, Bob, there are parts of the world that have public loos that only have a hosepipe for the, well, you know! soft wet wipes sound preferable to that, anyway! Poor you, hope it improves soon!
Decorating? well, we have a bit more gloss in the kitchen, but now only a door......trouble is, it is constructed with 9 panes of glass in it too, so whoever paints it will have to be a) patient b) stuck to the spot, c) steady of hand and eye and d) try not to be in the way!
dont allways post on your thread bobjk but i allways read how your doing...i wish i was half as brave as you are..allways allways hoping your as well as can be and things go as good as they possibly can for you bob....just sending you a huge hug...i know its not funny bob but wet wipes and hairdryer ...lol hope things improve soon ..iv got a few weeks off from hospitals and needles [ tough wood...ie my head ] just got the stem cell replacement and 3 or 4 weeks in quarantine....if i can be half as brave as you bob i will be fine...you take care bob and i sooo hope things are not so bad. of course its bad but you know what i mean..your such a posative person bob...i wish you as many good days and good times as possible...hugs
