Just Starting the Process and Questions

dlz913

Hello, 

A little about me, I'm 60 year old female.  I recently thought I had an urinary track infection with all the symptoms of it, however, they didn't find an infection.  There was a trace amount of blood in my urinalysis.  I have also been experiencing some swelling in my legs.  A few days later, I saw blood in my urine and was refered to an urologists.  They have ordered a work up, CAT scan, blood work etc.  My question is, what were your first signs of kidney cancer?  I am super scared right now. Oh, I have also developed a backache, which is not typical for me.  Not sure if its all in my mind because I am so freaked out. 

 

Thanks for your help and support.

 

icemantoo

Blood in the Urine

dlz,

 

The standard procedure for Blood in the Urine is a CT test to rule out Kidney Cancer or whatever. You are not there yet and it could be a whole lot of other things. Hopefully you will not have to join our club, but if you do we are here to help you thru  whatever happens.

 

 

Icemantoo

Footstomper

icemantoo said:

Blood in the Urine

dlz,

 

The standard procedure for Blood in the Urine is a CT test to rule out Kidney Cancer or whatever. You are not there yet and it could be a whole lot of other things. Hopefully you will not have to join our club, but if you do we are here to help you thru  whatever happens.

 

 

Icemantoo

Freaking out

I think that was my first reaction. I was peeing blood and as passed from doc to sonogram to MRI to Uroligist. I heard the word cancer and nothing else. Just try to calm down and go through the process bit by bit. I hope you havent got the cancer but trust the professionals and dont let tomorrows worst outcomes cloud today. I alse reckon that if you do have the dreaded c-word you've got it early in which case after some surgery its all sunshine and flowers

dlz913

Footstomper said:

Freaking out

I think that was my first reaction. I was peeing blood and as passed from doc to sonogram to MRI to Uroligist. I heard the word cancer and nothing else. Just try to calm down and go through the process bit by bit. I hope you havent got the cancer but trust the professionals and dont let tomorrows worst outcomes cloud today. I alse reckon that if you do have the dreaded c-word you've got it early in which case after some surgery its all sunshine and flowers

Thanks for the support.  At

Thanks for the support.  At this point I don't trust my doctor's.  Looking back at my routine blood tests for the past couple years, my creatine level was elevated.  At the time, my doctor said everything was normal, but the urologist at my first appointment last Friday said it was not normal.  Also, the urologist told me the testing process was going to take a month, the CAT scan would take 2 weeks and he wouldn't review the results until 2 weeks after that.  I don't understand why it has to take a month.  I had breast cancer in 2013 so this isn't my first rodeo!  I was sent for an immidiate biopsy after the routine MRI and had the results in a matter of a day.  What has everyones experience been with the testing process?  Should I be looking for a new doctor?

 

foroughsh

Wellcome and hope you won't

Wellcome and hope you won't find the nessecity to post  after recieveing the report except once to let us know it was nothing important. My first sign was flank pain which lasted for maximum 5 days but I insisted on my request to send me for ultrasound which resulted in a large but confined mass.

All those pains you have could be nothing but stress, stress can kill us if we let it. I was so stressed when first time heard about a 10 cm mass in my kidney so spent all night googgling and in the early morning i could't breathe, had dizziness, couldn't speak normally, and  I could litterally hear my heart beat, it was like the rate was terribly fast so i was sure it's sign of even worse news but it wasn't, it was just how my body reacted to the worst stress I had to face, so calm down, I know it's easier said than done but do your best please.I don't live in U.S but in my case I had C.T scan which is the best tool to recognize malligenies in urinery system the day after I saw my urologist and got the report the day after the scan. My surgery was finished on the seventh day of the first pain in my right side. one month seems too much to just diagnose a patient!!!! maybe expert urologist in kidney cancer for the second opinion is what you need.

Forough

 

 

 

APny

foroughsh said:

Wellcome and hope you won't

Wellcome and hope you won't find the nessecity to post  after recieveing the report except once to let us know it was nothing important. My first sign was flank pain which lasted for maximum 5 days but I insisted on my request to send me for ultrasound which resulted in a large but confined mass.

All those pains you have could be nothing but stress, stress can kill us if we let it. I was so stressed when first time heard about a 10 cm mass in my kidney so spent all night googgling and in the early morning i could't breathe, had dizziness, couldn't speak normally, and  I could litterally hear my heart beat, it was like the rate was terribly fast so i was sure it's sign of even worse news but it wasn't, it was just how my body reacted to the worst stress I had to face, so calm down, I know it's easier said than done but do your best please.I don't live in U.S but in my case I had C.T scan which is the best tool to recognize malligenies in urinery system the day after I saw my urologist and got the report the day after the scan. My surgery was finished on the seventh day of the first pain in my right side. one month seems too much to just diagnose a patient!!!! maybe expert urologist in kidney cancer for the second opinion is what you need.

Forough

 

 

 

Welcome and don't envision

Welcome and don't envision the worst. It's possible you passed a kidney stone, causing the blood but lack of infections. You may still have another one, causing the back pain. In other words, it doesn't have to be kidney cancer. If it is, it can be dealt with and while a terrifying diagnosis, what your mind makes up is a lot worse then the surgery and recovery. As for getting results and why it takes so much longer than results for breasts, I don't know if it's in every state but in NY they have to tell you the results of any breast exam (mammo, CT, MRI, etc.) right away. It's the only thing you don't have to wait those anxious weeks for. I've no idea why other tests can't be dealt with the same way. I didn't just have blood in my urine; I had a little urine in my blood. I peed straight blood. We knew it was most likely not a UTI with all that blood. So I had the CT scan and I waited a little less than a week for the results.

dlz913

foroughsh said:

Wellcome and hope you won't

Wellcome and hope you won't find the nessecity to post  after recieveing the report except once to let us know it was nothing important. My first sign was flank pain which lasted for maximum 5 days but I insisted on my request to send me for ultrasound which resulted in a large but confined mass.

All those pains you have could be nothing but stress, stress can kill us if we let it. I was so stressed when first time heard about a 10 cm mass in my kidney so spent all night googgling and in the early morning i could't breathe, had dizziness, couldn't speak normally, and  I could litterally hear my heart beat, it was like the rate was terribly fast so i was sure it's sign of even worse news but it wasn't, it was just how my body reacted to the worst stress I had to face, so calm down, I know it's easier said than done but do your best please.I don't live in U.S but in my case I had C.T scan which is the best tool to recognize malligenies in urinery system the day after I saw my urologist and got the report the day after the scan. My surgery was finished on the seventh day of the first pain in my right side. one month seems too much to just diagnose a patient!!!! maybe expert urologist in kidney cancer for the second opinion is what you need.

Forough

 

 

 

Welcome and hope you won't

Thank you for your comments.  I agree, a month sounds too long to me but I don't want to offend the doctors!  And I also agree, stress can cause a lot of symptoms that can be related only to the stress.  

How severe was your flank pain?  I have pain right above my left hip.  Is that the area where you consider flank?

 

dlz913

APny said:

Welcome and don't envision

Welcome and don't envision the worst. It's possible you passed a kidney stone, causing the blood but lack of infections. You may still have another one, causing the back pain. In other words, it doesn't have to be kidney cancer. If it is, it can be dealt with and while a terrifying diagnosis, what your mind makes up is a lot worse then the surgery and recovery. As for getting results and why it takes so much longer than results for breasts, I don't know if it's in every state but in NY they have to tell you the results of any breast exam (mammo, CT, MRI, etc.) right away. It's the only thing you don't have to wait those anxious weeks for. I've no idea why other tests can't be dealt with the same way. I didn't just have blood in my urine; I had a little urine in my blood. I peed straight blood. We knew it was most likely not a UTI with all that blood. So I had the CT scan and I waited a little less than a week for the results.

Wow!  That must have been frightening to see that much blood.  I'm trying not to envision but I think my main problem is I don't feel cared for by the medical system I've been looped into.  I'm talking to my PCP today to see if maybe I can change doctors or should just go with it until the tests are completed.

 

Thank you for your response.

APny

dlz913 said:

Welcome and hope you won't

Thank you for your comments.  I agree, a month sounds too long to me but I don't want to offend the doctors!  And I also agree, stress can cause a lot of symptoms that can be related only to the stress.  

How severe was your flank pain?  I have pain right above my left hip.  Is that the area where you consider flank?

 

If you don't feel cared for

If you don't feel cared for definitely see if you can find another doctor. There's no reason why it should take 2 weeks for him to look at the CT scan. I can see not being able to schedule on right away but once it's done, it shouldn't be that long to read it and interpret it. Maybe your PCP can recommend another urologist who is little more understanding that waiting a month is nerve wrecking.

hardo718

APny said:

If you don't feel cared for

If you don't feel cared for definitely see if you can find another doctor. There's no reason why it should take 2 weeks for him to look at the CT scan. I can see not being able to schedule on right away but once it's done, it shouldn't be that long to read it and interpret it. Maybe your PCP can recommend another urologist who is little more understanding that waiting a month is nerve wrecking.

Welcome DLZ

As many have stated, could be many things other than kidney cancer.  Talk to your PCP again about STAT tests, then you will get your results quickly.  Waiting a month is unacceptable since most facilities have someone to interpret your tests within 24 hours.  And don't hesitate to ask for a second opinion, or a third if you aren't comfortable with your physicians.  Although the first urologist I saw was right on, he stated that my findings were 80-90% chance of cancer, he never made eye contact with me and therefore I needed another opinion.  That second opinion led me to a doctor that I completely trusted, thank God!!

The only symptoms I had was when I would roll over to my left side in my sleep.  Felt like I was rolling over a tennis ball and it would wake me up every night.

Keep us posted and try to maintain a positive attitude.  Even if it is cancer, it's not a death sentence.  Lots of people here will confirm that.

I'll be praying for you,

Donna~

 

 

dlz913

hardo718 said:

Welcome DLZ

As many have stated, could be many things other than kidney cancer.  Talk to your PCP again about STAT tests, then you will get your results quickly.  Waiting a month is unacceptable since most facilities have someone to interpret your tests within 24 hours.  And don't hesitate to ask for a second opinion, or a third if you aren't comfortable with your physicians.  Although the first urologist I saw was right on, he stated that my findings were 80-90% chance of cancer, he never made eye contact with me and therefore I needed another opinion.  That second opinion led me to a doctor that I completely trusted, thank God!!

The only symptoms I had was when I would roll over to my left side in my sleep.  Felt like I was rolling over a tennis ball and it would wake me up every night.

Keep us posted and try to maintain a positive attitude.  Even if it is cancer, it's not a death sentence.  Lots of people here will confirm that.

I'll be praying for you,

Donna~

 

 

Thanks for Everyones support

I'm feeling a bit calmer now because of all your support.  I know the best information and support comes from those that have gone through it before me, at least that is what I learned when I had breast cancer, so I immediately turned to the survivors for advice when this came up.  I will keep you all informed of my test results.  One more thing.  The pain in my back is quite uncomfortable at this time, and I am afraid to take Advil because of the bleeding.  But, tylonol isn't that helpful.  Any of you out there told not to take Advil?

Thanks and God bless you all.

Donna

 

 

hardo718

dlz913 said:

Thanks for Everyones support

I'm feeling a bit calmer now because of all your support.  I know the best information and support comes from those that have gone through it before me, at least that is what I learned when I had breast cancer, so I immediately turned to the survivors for advice when this came up.  I will keep you all informed of my test results.  One more thing.  The pain in my back is quite uncomfortable at this time, and I am afraid to take Advil because of the bleeding.  But, tylonol isn't that helpful.  Any of you out there told not to take Advil?

Thanks and God bless you all.

Donna

 

 

Pain & Meds

If your pain is increasing, my opinion is head back to a doctor and get pain med advice from them.  You don't necessarily want to mask the pain, your body is trying to tell you something is not right, listen to it.  In other words, what is causing the pain? 

Good luck, keep us posted with updates, I'll be praying for you,

Donna~

medic1971

Hey there

Hello,

Your symptoms may be from a bad UTi known as pyelonephritis.  Pyelo definitely causes back pain.  I assume that your doctor did a urine culture?  If so that take up 48 hours to get results back and that is the labs turnaround time, your doctor's office may take longer getting that information back to you.  This might be a kidney stone too.  Are just hurting on one side or both?

As far as your creatinine level goes, well as we age our creatinine & BUN go up and our GRF goes down.  I am not sure how high yours were, but the urologist should be able to answer that for you.  

As far as the pain geos, I would talk to your doctor about this.  You need effective pain control and over the counter stuff is not working.  If the pain gets too severe I would go to the ER.

Hang in there and let us know.

 

 

Jason

 

tamaven01

hello dlz913

Thanks so much for sharing.  I completely understand how scary it is waiting for test results, and envisioning all the possibilities based on your symptoms.  While in my case I did happen to be diagnosed with kidney cancer a couple months back, I actually had none of the symptoms you're describing, it was discovered during an MRI on my back.  I thought it might be helpful to tell you something my doctor told me at one of my early appointments in general.  My doctor very calmy looked at me and said "regardless of what you think your symptoms are, what you're reading online, talking about with your friends and family, etc.  it is best to wait for clear facts based on scientific evidence through the multiple scans and testing (*which took weeks by the way). We move forward and build action plans based on FACTS only, not guessing what is might be, or how far along things are, definitely not by dreaming up the worst case scenarios.  Let's wait for the facts, then we can choose the proper course of action, whatever it requires".  I'm not sure if that will help you, but it made a world of difference for me.  Even after it came back as kidney cancer for me, we still just work through the plan based on the facts and we're tackling it.  I will pray for the best for you.  God bless, Tam  

foroughsh

dlz913 said:

Welcome and hope you won't

Thank you for your comments.  I agree, a month sounds too long to me but I don't want to offend the doctors!  And I also agree, stress can cause a lot of symptoms that can be related only to the stress.  

How severe was your flank pain?  I have pain right above my left hip.  Is that the area where you consider flank?

 

Flank pain and blood in urine

Flank pain and blood in urine are both very common symptoms of UTI, kidney stone, kidney cysts and kidnry tumors. In my case I had painjust  below my last hip at my right side, it started at sunday afternoon but I thought it's a muscle pressure but the pain became really painful onTuesday so I went to my GP office, she thought it was UTI and gave me some drugs, I felt fine for two days but the pain started on Thuursday morning when I vidited a urologiest and insisted on Ultrasound, I didn't have pain since Thursdays noon to Monday evening when I had my surgery

dlz913

tamaven01 said:

hello dlz913

Thanks so much for sharing.  I completely understand how scary it is waiting for test results, and envisioning all the possibilities based on your symptoms.  While in my case I did happen to be diagnosed with kidney cancer a couple months back, I actually had none of the symptoms you're describing, it was discovered during an MRI on my back.  I thought it might be helpful to tell you something my doctor told me at one of my early appointments in general.  My doctor very calmy looked at me and said "regardless of what you think your symptoms are, what you're reading online, talking about with your friends and family, etc.  it is best to wait for clear facts based on scientific evidence through the multiple scans and testing (*which took weeks by the way). We move forward and build action plans based on FACTS only, not guessing what is might be, or how far along things are, definitely not by dreaming up the worst case scenarios.  Let's wait for the facts, then we can choose the proper course of action, whatever it requires".  I'm not sure if that will help you, but it made a world of difference for me.  Even after it came back as kidney cancer for me, we still just work through the plan based on the facts and we're tackling it.  I will pray for the best for you.  God bless, Tam  

Thank You All

Again, I thank everyone for there comments.  It really helps to hear from people such as you that have gone through similar issues.  I don't want to complain too much to my family before I know what is going on!

Tam, that is good advice from your doctor and I will try and remember it as I wait for testing.  Thank you!

You are all in my prayers on a daily basis.

 

dlz913

medic1971 said:

Hey there

Hello,

Your symptoms may be from a bad UTi known as pyelonephritis.  Pyelo definitely causes back pain.  I assume that your doctor did a urine culture?  If so that take up 48 hours to get results back and that is the labs turnaround time, your doctor's office may take longer getting that information back to you.  This might be a kidney stone too.  Are just hurting on one side or both?

As far as your creatinine level goes, well as we age our creatinine & BUN go up and our GRF goes down.  I am not sure how high yours were, but the urologist should be able to answer that for you.  

As far as the pain geos, I would talk to your doctor about this.  You need effective pain control and over the counter stuff is not working.  If the pain gets too severe I would go to the ER.

Hang in there and let us know.

 

 

Jason

 

Thanks You Jason

I did have a urine culture, it was negative.  My creatine was 1.1 and the BUN was 25. I don't think they are that high, nor did my PCP, but with he blood in the urine, flank pain and swollen legs I think something is going on.  I am going to take Tam's and other's advice and try to calm down.  It's hard though, after having breast cancer, a survivor always wonders what is next!

Best.

dlz913

foroughsh said:

Flank pain and blood in urine

Flank pain and blood in urine are both very common symptoms of UTI, kidney stone, kidney cysts and kidnry tumors. In my case I had painjust  below my last hip at my right side, it started at sunday afternoon but I thought it's a muscle pressure but the pain became really painful onTuesday so I went to my GP office, she thought it was UTI and gave me some drugs, I felt fine for two days but the pain started on Thuursday morning when I vidited a urologiest and insisted on Ultrasound, I didn't have pain since Thursdays noon to Monday evening when I had my surgery

Thank You Foroughsh

I did wonder about kidney stones, but they said I would be in excrutiating pain, which I'm not.  I am uncomfortable though.   However, I am holding out hope for kidney stones lol.

Laurir

dlz913 said:

Thank You All

Again, I thank everyone for there comments.  It really helps to hear from people such as you that have gone through similar issues.  I don't want to complain too much to my family before I know what is going on!

Tam, that is good advice from your doctor and I will try and remember it as I wait for testing.  Thank you!

You are all in my prayers on a daily basis.

 

agree with dlz913

The waiting is the worst!  My labs came back and now I'm waiting for a CT scan on Feb. 24 and Oncologist appointment Feb. 25th.  I, too, am grateful for a place to share with others.  I'm trying to keep with a "normal" schedule, but it difficult when you don't have a plan.  I like a plan, so hopefully that will help me in the future.

todd121

dlz913 said:

Thanks for Everyones support

I'm feeling a bit calmer now because of all your support.  I know the best information and support comes from those that have gone through it before me, at least that is what I learned when I had breast cancer, so I immediately turned to the survivors for advice when this came up.  I will keep you all informed of my test results.  One more thing.  The pain in my back is quite uncomfortable at this time, and I am afraid to take Advil because of the bleeding.  But, tylonol isn't that helpful.  Any of you out there told not to take Advil?

Thanks and God bless you all.

Donna

 

 

CT Scan Report

Most centers you can ask for a copy as soon as the radiologist has read it and produced the report. If it's normal, you won't need the doctor to explain it (you should still see him...I'm not saying that you don't need him). As soon as I get the CT, I'd just go into the radiology department a day or two later and ask for a copy of the report. It's up to you if you want do it that way. Of course if there's anything abnormal on the report, you'll want to have the doctor explain it to you and what will happen next.

If it's kidney cancer, most likely there'll be a kidney mass visible on the CT scan. The radiologist report will say what, if anything, is abnormal in your kidneys. Bleeding can be caused by lots of things besides kidney cancer. Stones, for example, can cause bleeding and flank pain (I've had that before I had cancer).

If you aren't happy with your urologist, by all means get another opinion. Still might wait for the first opinion...Not sure why it has to be a month. Did you ask why it takes so long?

If it were me, I'd be in a hurry to find out. However, my first round of bleeding stopped and it was a whole year before it started again and mine was found. The good news is these masses tend to grow rather slowly so waiting a few weeks is probably not a big deal.

Wishing you the best,

Todd

todd121

dlz913 said:

Thank You Foroughsh

I did wonder about kidney stones, but they said I would be in excrutiating pain, which I'm not.  I am uncomfortable though.   However, I am holding out hope for kidney stones lol.

Stones and Pain

It depends on the size of the stone how much pain you would be in. Usually it is quite painful.

If the pain gets bad enough, just go to the ER (assuming you have health insurance). They'll probably do a CT on the spot and tell you the results. That's how I found my kidney stone and how I found my kidney tumor (at the ER due to pain).

Hopefully it's nothing like cancer and you can get it resolved soon.

Todd