Of Course you are scared. Cancer can be SO frightening. I'm glad you came here because there are lots and lots of folks here who have been through it before and we all are delighted to help you with advice and moral support.

The good news is that kidney cancer is quite curable if caught early. Even if it has spread, there are new and more effective treatments.

Please don't delay in getting treatment. It might involve removing part or all of one kidney, just chemotherapy, or both. The important thing is to start on the road to recovery as soon as possible. If you don't already have a good urologist, search for one who is a surgeon (FACS) and has experience with kidney cancer.

And please stay in touch with us here and let us know how you are doing; ask questions of us and allow us to be here for you

Dave

Thankyou so much Dave for the words of encouragement. I see the surgeon tomorrow and just want to go ahead with everything. According to the MRI, there was no lymph node involvement.....I think that's a good thing??

That is HUGELY important. That is GREAT news!

Was there any sign of metastasizing (moving to any other organ)? And how large is the tumor?

Dave

Nothing by the abd/pelvic ct and mri...the radiologist mentioned something about the mass being a clean 1 ...???

If I can recall they said the tumor was 2.9X2.6x1.5...whatever that means....

Again GOOD NEWS!.

I'm not sure what those numbers all mean either, but all of them are less than 7. Larger than 7 cm seems to be the point where the survival rate seems to drop a lot. You are under that so you have a wonderful chance.

Also, your cancer has not spread. Thats important too.

Here's a link to a web site that talks about 5-year survival rates for various degree's of kidney cancer:

http://cancer.emedtv.com/kidney-cancer/kidney-cancer-survival-rates.html

Keep us posted!

Dave

CaseyMollie, welcome, although this isn't the place you want to be, you are in the company of some REALLY caring people. TNYank is a sweetie, and so are many others. For starters, if you look at Tn's or my friends list, those folks are TOPS that have written encouragement to me. They are there for others and walk the walk through this website with each other. I know I do now for others, that are going to go thru SO much more than I have.
Scary? Hell yea, and it hits everyone differently, but you change. I still am dealing with all that's went on with me. Take it one day at a time, and sometimes it may be one minute at a time when you are at the Dr's. Anyway...
I second everything TNYank says, and I want you to read my website. The whole thing if you feel up to it. Not to boast on my writing skills at ALL, but as a source of links, encouragement, and I've studied more about the kidney in the last 4 months than I did in college, and I was Pre Med.. Mine was like yours and fortunately, it was found at 2cm. That's usually the only way RCC is found early...'by accident', but thank God it was found.
EVERYONE'S case is different, and I will tell you that although they had to leave 'positive margins' inside me; I am well. Why did they leave the margins? EVERYONE said I had carcinoma, and as it turned out they are saying it is renal angiomyolipoma..It's not a carcinoma, so while the positive margin of tumor is still in me, for it was in a place that would have not been good to remove it, I have to have another CT in Oct to see if any new neoplasms are 'of issue'...Now, to just get rid of the hernias that are kicking my **&&, (surgery the end of June)and kicking my divorce atty in the butt...I'll be just fine. Hon, stay strong, and when you can't be strong, just know there's so many people here, as TNYank first told me, 'you have alot more friends here than you realize.
Love, and prayers, Hunter

CaseyMollie!
I forgot to give you the link. Now to work on some links I was going to put in toto on my website at CaringBridge.com.
This site is great, I've made mine public, but one doesn't have to. I just wanted to make it easy for people to get in and see links, etc.
Ciao again,
Hunter
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/Lonewolf

Thank you Hunter for your wisdom about what you've and are going through. I'm at the tip of the iceberg with my situation, but just trying to gather info to make informed decisions. Why didn't they take the whole kidney?? Instead of leaving margins for future worries?

Hi my name is Debbie In July of 2008 I was told I have stage IV kidney cancer. It has been a long journey but one worth going thru. My best advice is to keep a positive outlook it willhelp you alot! I also have my times when I am afraid and feel alone. I have had radiation on a tumor in my brain and I took Sutent for 4 months to shrink the tumors in my kidneys and my lungs. That did not work and the side effects were too much. I am now on the chemo drug Torisel to help stop the growth of the tumors and too try to shrink them. I am hopeful that this treatment will help. Keep the faith and good luck. deb

Well, I head to the Dr. in a few hrs. for the relook at both CT and MRI info for i guess surgery/what type/how. I'm scared. I know I already said that, but I'm saying it again.....

Debbie to help you understand that TERISOL is a wonderful drug, my husband also has kidney cancer and after Nexavar and Sutent failed he was told he only had a 15% chance Terisol would work, His cancer had matastized (sp?) to the lungs and hip socket.. Well afer 47 weeks of Terisol, the tumor in the hip socket is inactive and the 25 plus tumors in the lungs are gone. He will stay on Terisol with one week on and one week off til we have a few more scans to see that the cancer is at bay. He is having some trouble with the short term memory loss, which Dr called Chemo Brain or Brain Fog.
Unfortunately they did not find his tumor until it was softball size. But its been two years and he is still with us. To complicate matters he also has Parkinsons, so if anyone out there knows anyone who has had to deal with both, we would love to hear from them.
Thanks and good luck to all of you.
CaseyMollie, go for it and keep a "sunshiney" attitude. We know this has helped Dan thru all of this and one of the reasons we still have him with us.
Marilyn

here for ya..hang in there..
Hunter
execworks@gmail.com

Just got back from the Dr's...better news than I conjured up. It is a tumor...65% chance it's malignant...no spreading or anything. The Dr. said it had been there for quite some time and we could actually continue to watch it. I'm not into that so I opted to have it removed. He thought that was a good choice. Surgery on June 16th. He's planning a heminephrectomy laporascopically, but it could lead to an open nephrectomy.......he mentioned it will be very painful!

Dan had a nephrectomy removing the right kidney. Was hospitalized for 5 days and did OK, biggest problem for him he was so hungry. They had given him an eperderal(sp?) so he was awake right after surgery. Was it easy, no but not like we thought it might be. You are in our prayers and good luck, keep us informed.
Marilyn

Hi CaseyMollie,
Marilyn is on the mark about Epi's.. I asked and got an Epi before surgery, in addition to the IV Pain meds during/and post surgery. I'd read up on that and my Dr's said 'sure' right off the bat.. Had 2 pain M.D.s and both were fantastic ladies. (I read what you put about what your Dr said about pain) I

Pain for Open renal surgery is a different ball game I hear, as well as recovery time of course, but other DS'ers with open renal surgery can advise..but don't fret too much on the pain issue. They'll keep you as comfortable as possible. Or just strangle them....lol...
Anyway, I stood up beside my bed and took about two steps for about maybe a minute about r 8 hours after surgery. (So I vaguely remember;(but I am the type that would get out of bed with an NG tube in my craw if I could)..
It's not a cake walk but you'll be fine, we'll 'claim' that !
Have a blessed weekend, and if you need anything,....
Hugs, God's love,
Hunter