Operation next week

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I spoke to my nurse for the first time today and I have my Op on the 20 th march . She told me I had jumped the queue as my tumour is 14 cm and needs to be taken out ASAP . My tumour is still confined but pushing in the wall of the kidney . She also told me that I might well need more ‘immune’ treatment as she put it after . I am glad that they are doing my op quickly but am just a little low today as it seems I will be on immunotherapy straight away and it seems reality is setting in on my prognosis . I do try and take the positives aswell but it was a tricky day at the pre op yesterday as my wife got upset quite a lot when I was being checked over as I think it all started to look real for her too . All my stats were good yesterday and I have been told to expect a 5 day stint in hospital . I am a very upbeat and positive person historically but  that guy has gone for a while . My family are fab and I have 4 great kids and my wife and I have fostered over 50 kids and we still see a lot of them so I couldn’t be more loved and sometimes that makes it worse when you lost control of your life a bit . I think after OP I will get into the right state of mind . 

  • FormerMember
    FormerMember

    Hi Phil,

    Its really good that you have a date for your op now. 

    Reassuringly, you were told you "might" need immunotherapy so not definite, and in any case that decision would only be made after the histology results from the tumour are in, and that would be up to 4 weeks after your op, and not "straight away".

    So if you can, aim to keep busy, fit and well for the next week and focus on them getting the op done and then concentrate with recovery before worrying about future treatment. One step at a time.

    All the best

  • Ye it’s just that sometimes I can’t believe this is happening and I wake up in panic at times .This forum is great and everybody is  fab and helpful .

  • Hi Philw, it's very good news that you finally have an operation date. Wish you all the best and a quick recovery!

    Try to focus on the situation step by step; now it's time to focus on surgery, then, you will eventually focus, if needed, on immunotherapy. I know that it's not easy, but for your peace of mind it's better to go step by step. 

  • Hi Phil, I think what you and your wife are experiencing is very normal……..you have both had a big shock. I had to wait for my op and couldn’t wait for the date to come……..but when it came, as you say it all became real. However, something strange happened…on the day of the op I work up full of courage with a ‘ let’s get it done’ attitude…I knew I would be asleep and it just felt as though this was the start of something being done. I had a robotic procedure and can honestly say it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. You sound a lovely man, with a lovely family . Wishing you all the best and do keep posting. Sending you and your wife a big hug Jules x

  • Thanks a lot for that x

  • A lot of participants here have had rad nephs. It really is quite a straight forward op and generally goes smoothly. I need to add the words that every case is different and recovery can vary but in general you should not stress too much.

  • Hi philw, pleased that you now have a date for op. I don’t know when the reality of this sets in. Having good family and friends around is priceless. Finding others who are going through this also helps, this place is great, even though we’d all rather not be here. 

    Make sure get a V shape pillow for when you are home. This helped so much with getting comfy.

    This phase is nearly done.