Arterial Embolization to shrink kidney tumour

Hi Bodger23 

I'm not a member of this forum but noticed that your post hadn't had any replies. Responding to you will 'bump' it back to the top of the discussion list.

While you're waiting for replies, it would be great if you could put something about your wife's diagnosis and treatment to date into your profile as it really helps others when replying to you and also when looking for someone on a similar pathway. It also means that you don't have to keep repeating yourself. To do this click on your username and then select 'Profile'. You can amend it at any time and if you're not sure what to write you can take a look at mine by clicking on my username.

Wishing you both all the best 

Hello Bodger23

I have been waiting to see if anyone else would respond to your questions about embolisation.

I have been on a similar journey to your wife, for about the same length of time. I also had Novilumab for a year. You can read my profile by clicking on my name, if you want.

I have been in this forum group for well over a year, and I have never come across embolisation as a cancer treatment technique. I haven't seen any posts about it, which makes me wonder if it is a new technique being developed. The people posting in here come and go, and at the moment, most of the people posting seem to be having surgery rather than immunotherapy and other procedures, so you may not get many responses to your questions.

If I was in your wife's position, I would want to know a lot more about the embolisation procedure, especially how successful the outcome might be, and the benefits and risks of having it.

You may get more information by contacting Kidney Cancer UK, or Cancer Research UK, rather than looking for other patients. They will have specialists who can help.

I would be much more concerned about the delay to the femur operation! Why was it cancelled, and is it being re-scheduled?

I hope you have had an update about this.

Hope you both get the answers and the treatment you are waiting for!

Candysmum

Hi, I have had the procedure embolisation, but only to stop a bleed I suffered during my partial nephrectomy. The bleed was to a kidney artery and was discovered the day after my operation when I was given a CT scan after I fainted when a nurse attempted to stand me up to get me out of bed. 
As you say, a tube is inserted in the groin and it was painless and stopped the bleed and the awful pain I was in. 
That’s all I can offer on the subject and mine was all done as an emergency. 
I hope you get a better answer from someone soon. Take care and good luck with future treatment. 

Thank You Latchbrook, Cilla and Candysmum - I'm a bit in the dark as to what is planned for my wife,which is why I put up my post. I don't think this is some new type of treatment for cancer, though her radiologist commented yesterday "this will kill the tumour" - "it will stop the flow of blood and oxygen to the tumour and it will die". If it was that easy , why now, and not before? We have been told unofficially that this procedure is planned for ten days' time, but no letter as yet. This will then be followed by surgery (distil nailing) to strengthen the femur, then radiotherapy to kill off or shrink the tumour in her leg. Nothing in writing as mentioned - I just hope it goes ahead. 
Crossing our fingers that this might 'kill' her stage 4 tumour, but not confident - watch this space ;-)

Many Thanks once again, Bodger. 

Hello, I was done an embolisation through my femoral artery, to get the artery, vein and ureter coiled due to a bleeding from my kidney and a 16 cm tumor. I do believe the main aim of the embolisation is to block any bleeding. In my case, the mass inside my kidney killed it 

I had embolisation just before my surgery with the intention of lessening blood loss during radical nephrectomy for stage 4 renal tumour with no mets at the time. I cannot comment on your wife case as mine was different but causing tumours to be deprived of blood vessels is good. Im not sure if this is normal practice or new innovation in your wife’s case. It seems she’s done well on immunotherapy so far and such a disappointment she’s # her femur- what’s happening about that?