Yippee I was diagnosed with rcc on 10/04/2011

Limelife50

Hi everybody,thought I would share my exciting story.On 10/03/2011 I was riding my motorcycle home from work when I hit a nasty pothole,upon hitting this pothole I felt a sharp pain in my back.Well the next morning when I went to go to the washroom I saw something,I think you all have a good ideal what it was.Two days later I was diagnosed with rcc ,had my right kidney with adrenal gland removed on 10/11.The tumor was 5th stage 1 grade two.I never thought in my worst nightmares I would get something like this and I have to admit I wake up a lot of nights laying there in fear that this monster is going to come back and finish the job.I have been told to return to my life that my odds are good,but I feel easier said than.My question is will these feelings of fear subside over time.

MikeK703

Fear
Hi,

The pain that caused them to find my kidney cancer was caused by a gallstone. I was "lucky" in that if my gall bladder didn't have that unwelcome guest I'd still be walking around, unaware that my kidney was hosting another, more deadly, guest. Many of us have similar stories of how our cancers were accidentally found.

Yes, the fear will subside over time. You'll learn to live your life with a degree of normalcy that greatly depends on your attitude. You'll even be able to forget occasionally that you have had cancer. But the fear will usually return as you get closer to your follow-up tests. All of us here have to face that. Then hopefully the results will come back negative and you'll be back to "normal" again ... until the next test.
Good luck.
Mike

Vagusto

Worry
Hello
I think it depends on you, and how you're wired. I'm two years post op. I get really nervous a couple weeks before my check up. (I had been going in every 3-4 months, just graduated to every 6 months) I do believe the fear subsides over time, however for me I don't think it will ever go away. I tend to over analyze ever little ache and pain. I am trying really hard to live each day as if everything is okay. I had a little scare in August 2011, and I think it taught me to live each day because one day it might return and then I might not be able to do the things, at that moment, that I want to. Hope that makes sense.
Take Care
Valerie

garym

Vagusto said:

Worry
Hello
I think it depends on you, and how you're wired. I'm two years post op. I get really nervous a couple weeks before my check up. (I had been going in every 3-4 months, just graduated to every 6 months) I do believe the fear subsides over time, however for me I don't think it will ever go away. I tend to over analyze ever little ache and pain. I am trying really hard to live each day as if everything is okay. I had a little scare in August 2011, and I think it taught me to live each day because one day it might return and then I might not be able to do the things, at that moment, that I want to. Hope that makes sense.
Take Care
Valerie

Similar story...
Limelife50,

I tell people that the luckiest thing that ever happened to me was a motorcycle accident. It was October 25, 2009 and I was laying in the ER following the accident when they told me I had a mass in my left kidney. Fast forwarding to today I can say that yes, the fear does subside, but only a little on its own. It is and will be what you make of it, you can be a ruled by it or work to overcome it. It is better to face your fears and minimize the power they hold over you than to let them grow and grind you down. I know, easier said than done, but if you resolve to try, little by little you will succeed.

Good luck,

Gary