Renal Mass

Mad,

 

Fortunately both are very small. Are they both in one kidney or one in each Kidney? If it is malignant, both are small enough that in a worse case scenerio they will be removed along with all or part of a Kidney and given their size your prognosis for a full and complete recovery are excellant. Are you sure the measurements you gave us are not reverse with the lesion being 3.5 cm and the simple cyst being 1 cm.? Either way your prognosis is excellent. If the simple cyst turns out to be 1 cm, they may just watch and wait as cysts that small are common and often are not malignant and often turn out to be nothing.

 

All of us on this board have had a full or partial nephrectomy. Rarely are their future concerns (mets) unless a tumor is over 4 cm.

 

Keep us posted.

 

We have all been through the drill and it is not fun. Being told that it is possibly malignant is enough to scare the s--- out of anyone. It sure scared me 12 years ago. Things will get better

 

 

Icemantoo

madzoon said:

Hi yes those are the measurements.  the simple cyst  is 3.5  was checked 6 months ago. and  has grown 1 1/ cm since then.  the other mass 1 cm is new  as is the  para-aortic  lymph node. that is what worries me the most..   I have talked to a few physcians I work with and they  all tell me to have it removed regardless and my urologist will talk to me further about the  para-aortic ...  Yes they are both in one kdney.. my left. 

What a relief

Mad

 

I was concerned you had 1 in each kidney (bilateral kidney cancer) which can gum up the works. 

It sounds like they are going to do a nephrectomy (removal of the kidney) and they will remove the lymph node at the same time.

Not fun, but as  stated earlier, been there and done that. What a lousy initiation into our club which nobody wants to join, but after you join you get to have a whole bunch of us help you get beyond this.

 

Icemantoo

madzoon said:

ICE

thank you and that was what i was afraid of . was kinda hoping he might just remove a portion of the kidney????   I am going to see him This tuesday the 26th  I will keep you informed on his decision..  crossing fingers..  Thank you  for the kind words and the support. I am sure I will need it.. I am a very strong person. And I know that GOD will not give me anything that he dont think i can handle.   I will be fine. I have to be right???  I have a 9 month old Grandson...  He loves his grammy alot... 

Partial/Full Nephrectomy

Partials can be tricky and not all surgeons can do them. If you really want a partial, you might have to surgeon shop. It might be worth it. There are slighly more risks of complications with a partial, but you can keep more kidney function. If your surgeon says no/doesn't do them, get another opinion. That small of a tumor, you have plenty of time. Look for a referral to a urologic oncologist. Often times they are on staff at university medical centers/medical schools or at cancer hospitals. These tumors grow very slow, so don't rush. If the tumor is located in the upper/lower pole, you should be a candidate for a partial.

Good luck. Hopefully the lymph node turns out to be negative. You won't know until after the surgery and you get the pathology report. If you do have RCC outside of the kidney, you might want to find an oncologist with experience with RCC to get checked out good to make sure it hasn't spread and to be followed.

Best wishes,

Todd