Hi guys, I have not posted here before but I hope my post will give support to some of you awaiting results.
Firstly, I am relatively fit male and will be 71 years young in June.I play the bagpipes and have two working Spaniels to keep me busy.
On 26th April 2016 about 7pm I went for a pee and it was bright red blood, no pain and I thought nothing more of it. When I went to bed about 11 the pain in my bladder became unbearable. I got up and dressed and told my wife I needed to go to the hospital, Forth Valley. I was given morphine and eventually was able to supply a urine sample. I was told I needed a CT scan, I could wait in the hospital or come back in the morning. I decided to go home (maybe the morphine talking)! The next day I had the CT scan and was told I had kidney cancer in the left kidney and a secondary tumour lurking in my abdomen but not attached to anything. I was told I need a contrasting CT scan which could be done on the next day. When I saw the urology consultant he said I had clear cell cancer and that he would operate but we were possibly looking at palliative care. In June (2016) I underwent the surgery to remove the left kidney and the rogue tumour. All went well. I was then put on a schedule of 6 monthly CT scans but in November 2019 the scan revealed a small tumour in my right lung, one in the left side of the pelvis and one on my back. There was a small one in my left upper arm and one in the right armpit. I was referred to the Beatson but they didn't think my situation was urgent at that time. In March 2021 I did start on a 2 year course of Immunotherapy and oral chemotherapy tablets. The tumours have shrunk considerably and my Immunotherapy course has finished. The next year will be interesting.
The bottom line I suppose is that I have been living with kidney cancer for perhaps 10 years and still here to walk my dogs and get up to all sorts of mischief.
There is hope and cancer treatment is changing rapidly, keep fighting on.
