My experiences

Hi all

I wanted to add my experiences to this group as I found it very useful prior to my treatment.  I had a scan for a minor stomach problem in November last year and was told "there's a spot on your kidney we need to address" - by February I was going into surgery for a 4cm lesion on my right kidney.  I found the lead-up to surgery difficult as no-one used the "C word" but just kept telling me that it was important that it was dealt with quickly.  I didn't quite know how significant the problem was or, frankly, exactly what the problem was.

I had my surgery at UCLH Westmoreland Street in London and the operation went well, although they had to do a full removal rather than the partial nephrectomy they had planned for because of the location of the tumour.  Unfortunately my body reacted badly to the operation and, although the actual operation went well, my body went into some sort of crisis mode and I was in hospital for 10 days rather than the expected 2 with five of them in intensive care with breathing problems and side-effects from the general anaesthetic (at one point I was convinced there was a DJ booth in the ICU).  I was lucky in that I was treated in a Covid-free facility but they were still concerned that I might have picked it up somewhere given my symptoms (which I hadn't).  I have nothing but praise for the NHS team who looked after me throughout the process who kept me informed, were sensitive, helpful, and had good humour despite what they were having to deal with as a broader organisation.

When I got home recovery did take about ten weeks given how long I was in hospital and I did find that frustrating.  I am physically back to normal now - no noticeable effect of only having one kidney - but the mental impact is still there - everything happened so fast and my time in hospital was very traumatic and I think I am still dealing with the shock.  I went from diagnosis to being apparently cancer-free in just a few months and it's a lot to take in.  I will obviously have to have follow-up checks but I was told from the biopsy that my cancer was not very aggressive so there is only a small chance it will return.

In a sense I feel a bit of a fraud posting on somewhere like here because I was not unwell from cancer, I have not had to go through radio or chemo or very long periods of treatment (I have two close family members who went through this for other forms of cancer and so I know how tough it is).  I am told I am now cancer-free.  But the mental impact of what I've gone through remains significant and is something I need to keep processing.

Anyway, I just wanted to share my experiences as another person who's had to deal with renal cancer.  Good luck and best wishes to all.