Recent diagnosis

Hi Kristine and welcome to our group  whilst it’s a club that no one really wanted to join, it’s a friendly caring group. 

Do you know whether you are having your tumour and part of the kidney removed, or are you having a full nephrectomy If you  click on my name it will give you my profile where you will see that I had all of my kidney removed 5 months ago. ….and the op wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.

You will  need a pre op check ( it sounds as though you have had your staging scan, if they have graded it, so I would think that you will be waiting for a an operation date. 

They have lots of information on the site about different types of scans and operations so have a look round.

it’s good to hear that you are still feeling well. I tried to plan/ do some nice some nice things whilst waiting for my op……just things like having my nails done, going for a walk when the sun was shining, buying a bunch of flowers etc.

Keep posting to let us know how you are getting on x

Bg hugs Jules xx

Hi Jules,  Thank you so much for getting back to my post and I'm glad you are recovering well.

I am waiting for the hospital admission date as they want to take out my kidney.

I'm quite ignorant as this is all new to me and a real learning curve.

:-)

Bless you, anything you want to know then just ask! Kidney cancer doesn’t seem to be talked about very much, so it’s not surprising that you don’t know much about it. 

We are here for each other on the site xx

I had one of those 12 weeks ago. In general all I would say is that certainly in my case it was a very easy, pain free operation with good recovery.  I do seem to have been in an outstanding hospital though. Experiences can vary but there are lots of nephtrectomists ;) who you can read about here. The gas is the worst bit. 

Hi Simon,

Thanks for this response, its very positive.  Can I ask, what was your recovery time in terms of returning to work, driving etc.  I'm an educator and deliver training so not a manual job.

Thanks a million

I am retired and each case is different. In general to get to full fitness might take longer than you think. Age, weight and general health all make a difference. For planning maybe a month before work plus or minus even part time might be a realistic plan. Presumably you need to stand a lot. Fatigue though can be a weird side effect for ages afterwards. That might be the anaesthetic. Not sure. Difficult to work to a fixed schedule. It takes whatever it takes. Nothing to worry about though. Even the catheter is not as bad as it seems. The op has had a funny effect on my emotions. Quite tearful in the beginning for no obvious reason. Regular early motion and peppermint apparently helps vacate the gas in the first hours/days. Tummy sore for several weeks after due stretching. Constipation a serious hazard after any GA procedure. Hosp will prescribe stuff. Hope that helps. Ask if you have further queries.

PS: Just noticed you are a woman ! My bad. Not sure what catheter arrangements are for you !

Kristine said:

I am interested to learn from anyone here what’s ahead?

Huge over simplification but probably (a) take kidney out (b) "recover" = feel sh1t for 3-6-9 months and (c) you're good for another 10 years. You might be offered adjuvant drug to increase the likelihood that it won't return.  Some regions are doing this as part of a trial.  

They'll send the kidney to histology so they can see what kind of cancer it was.  This will be useful to help with deciding any future treatment. Regular CT scans going forward to check status ie has it returned.  

Great response, thanks a million.