HI, I am a seventy year old man, who carries a bit too much weight and probably drinks a little more red wine than I should, but I am generally pretty fit and have a Can Do attitude to life.
Although i wouldn't have believed it before reading other posts on the community pages, my own accidental diagnosis is apparently not unusual. I had an ongoing cough for a number of months, and a variety of diagnostic tools were brought to bare. The last of these was an MRI scan which confirmed that, apart from the inconvenience, my cough was nothing to worry about. However.......
The MDT review of my scans suggested that I had a cyst on my kidney, which should be checked, but was probably nothing to worry about. So, back for another scan, this time of my kidneys, with dye as an added bonus. lucky me. Not to worry, everything was fine and no need to even think about the C word.
Four days later, I got the letter to call me in for an appointment, in three weeks, to see the Urologist at 08.40 in the morning. It didn't take a mastermind contestant to realise that he could have given me good news, if that had been his intention, over the phone. so there we sat, my wife and I, when we were told that the cyst was not a problem but the previously unnoticed tumour in the other kidney most definitely was. The options for where we went next were laid out patiently and sensitively, and to be honest, having waited the three weeks to see him, it was almost a relief to end the speculation.
I'm sitting here, in my house three weeks to the day, later, having a had a radical nephrectomy by keyhole surgery on Friday last. I have to say, it must have been a very big key but being able to read of the experiences of others has helped enormously. The bloated feeling after surgery is severe and quite frightening, but it goes.
The skill of my surgeon has almost certainly saved my life and a bit of pain for the removal of a potentially deadly disease seems to be a fair swap. I'm truly sorry that not everyone has a positive tale to tell but for me, God bless the NHS
