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babydawn20
babydawn20 Member Posts: 2
in Kidney Cancer #1
Hello, I'm 33 years old and had a radical nephrectomy of my right kidney in January 2013. It was stage 1 clear cell renal carcenoma.. My left kidney is functioning just fine right now. I've had 2 scans since surgery which were ok! I do however have a couple nodules on my lungs which my doctor said were " nothing" but this scares me because I know one of the first places kidney cancer travels too is the lungs! My doctor said I don't have to get another scan for a year, but is that too long to wait? I've been living with a constant battle going on in my head since this all took place. First, I'm extremely grateful that it was caught before it had spread.. Also, a constant fear that it will come back or that I will one day have to get dialysis. Any suggestions on how to deal with this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Dawn

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  • Djinnie
    Djinnie Member Posts: 945 Member
    #2
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    Fear!

     

    Hi Dawn, I am glad to hear you have the first year of clear scans under your belt. Your Doctor is right about the nodules, as my Oncologist tells me most people have nodules that are related to benign conditions, they appear on normal X-rays all the time. At the moment they will be tiny, I am sure your Doctor will monitor them on future scans. However! I would voice your concerns with your Doctor so that you are completely comfortable with the results. Your cancer was caught early at Stage I, what Grade was it?

    You are not alone in your concerns about reoccurrence, it is perfectly natural but as time goes on and with each clear scan you will become more confident. None of us knows what the future holds, we have to live our lives with hope not fear. Fear causes stress and stress suppresses the immune system, that won't help! I know it's easier said than done, but you have to work on changing your mind set!

    All the best:)

     

     

     

    Djinnie x

     

     

     

  • icemantoo
    icemantoo Member Posts: 3,361 Member
    #3
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    Djinnie said:

    Fear!

     

    Hi Dawn, I am glad to hear you have the first year of clear scans under your belt. Your Doctor is right about the nodules, as my Oncologist tells me most people have nodules that are related to benign conditions, they appear on normal X-rays all the time. At the moment they will be tiny, I am sure your Doctor will monitor them on future scans. However! I would voice your concerns with your Doctor so that you are completely comfortable with the results. Your cancer was caught early at Stage I, what Grade was it?

    You are not alone in your concerns about reoccurrence, it is perfectly natural but as time goes on and with each clear scan you will become more confident. None of us knows what the future holds, we have to live our lives with hope not fear. Fear causes stress and stress suppresses the immune system, that won't help! I know it's easier said than done, but you have to work on changing your mind set!

    All the best:)

     

     

     

    Djinnie x

     

     

     

    Normal

    Dawn,

     

    Sorry yu had to join our club at such a young age As Djinnie states small nodules in the lung are normal. Most likely not related to RCC, but they will watch to make sure. Also harmless cysts sometimes show up on your Kidney. Again they watch these.I am 12 years out from my Neph and I have had both small nodules on the lung and small cysts on the other Kidney.

     

    Icemantoo

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