Medical stuff

[Mosca]

I haven't posted a lot lately, I've had some things on my mind, been going to a lot of tests.

I've been diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma.

If I didn't tell my friends, they wouldn't know. Online friends are every bit the same as face-to-face friends, and I could no more just stop posting here any more than I could stop calling on my local friends. At the least I think I would need to let you all know. Whenever I've met online people, I feel the same as I have when I've developed the friendships face to face; we always take up right after the last conversation, except that it was online.

The good news is that we caught it early. Tumors less than 2cm are not considered malignant; this one is about 2.5cm.

The bad news is that I'm going to lose my left kidney. A partial nephrectomy isn't possible because of the location of the tumor, on the inner side of the meat of the kidney extending into the urine collection area. Losing a kidney in my case is a bit more problematic than it would be for someone else, because I'm diabetic and I am a frequent kidney stone former.

The cure for renal carcinoma is 100% surgical. There is no radiation or chemotherapy, because those treatments have no effect on this type of tumor. The flip side of that coin is, if the tumor metastasizes radiation and chemo won't help you. I have absolutely no signs of metastatic disease.

My urologist says that I'm not going to die from it; his words were more or less, "I've been diagnosing these for 17 years and everyone who I thought was going to die from kidney cancer has.... but no one else has. You're not going to die from this."

We caught it through luck. I was having bad heartburn and my family doctor scheduled an ultrasound of my abdomen with concentration on the gall bladder area. The technician decided to ultrasound my entire abdomen, and she saw the tumor and spent an extra 10 minutes getting a better picture. Two CAT scans and an MRI later, here we are.

Surgery is tentatively May 16th, I'll be out of commission for 2-4 weeks then. I'm not worried about what's going to happen, but I think that's because I have no idea what it's going to be like on the other side of that surgery.

Not the best news, but a hell of a lot better than it could be.

Don't forget to hug your family and loved ones.


Tom

[1 Clean WS6]

You'll be in my prayers Tom. God speed.

[Corey Bit Spank]

Get better soon, Tom! You're one of my favorite people on here.

[BigAl3]

hope you have a fast and speedy recovery buddy!

[Spilchy]

As you pointed out, the good thing is you caught it early and acted decisively. Losing a kidney is drastic but the alternative seems to be worse. You'll be around to watch your children continue to grow. I wish you and your family the best of luck and strength to make it through. Keep up the positive attitude. Take good care. All the best.

[the other pc]

Glad to hear you caught it early. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!


PC.

[Scottwax]

Originally Posted by 1 Clean WS6

You'll be in my prayers Tom. God speed.

Same here, Tom. I hope you have a swift and complete recovery.

[twitch]

Good luck Tom!

I know you probably have no idea who I am because I am still very new around here compared to the "old schoolers" but I have made it through some trying medical conditions myself and understand what you may be up against.

I had a double lung transplant in October 1995 and could not have pulled through it without the support of my family and friends.

I wish you the sincere best and some advice I can offer would be to keep your positive outlook because the mental aspect of recovery will get you through any issues you face.

We are here for you man!

[John Styrnol]

Tom,

Sorry to hear that. I hope everything goes well for ya. I know you will be around for awhile, who else can I discuss beer with, LOL

[Mr. Clean]

Tom, I'm glad that you were diagnosed in a timely fashion. It has already been mentioned and I'm sure no one knows this more than you, losing a kidney is no small matter. Though there a lots of folks who live with only one, or only one that is fully functioning so we know that a quality lifestyle is still possible. If it were me, the toughest thing right now would be the waiting. I hope that they time passes swiftly for you and your family. I hope for you skilled surgeons and post surgery personnel. Best of luck to you and your family during this period.

[Ajaxus]

Good luck with this, I work in an Emergency Room and its tough at times so on one level I do understand what you're going through. My prayers are with you.

[ebpcivicsi]

Originally Posted by Corey Bit Spank

Get better soon, Tom! You're one of my favorite people on here.

Man, that is *exactly* what I was thinking.

You will definitely be in my thoughts, GOOD LUCK!!!!