How quick is surgery after discovery of rcc ?

Calicocat101

Hello.  I honestly never thought I would be asking questions about cancer, esp. In the kidney but I guess you never know the path you will find yourself on.

Sept 4th I asked for an X-ray of my left ribs as I had sharp pain there for several years, nothing wrong with the ribs but they found a 5cm mass on the upper lobe of my right kidney on September 28th. CT scan showed that the cancer was only there but they are concerned about adrenal and renal vein involvement.  I will be receiving a full kidney removal hopefully sometime soon.  My question is, how long did any of you wait between discovery of the cancer and surgery?  The doctor said surgery is not something you wait very long to do.  However, I cannot seem to get the clinic to call me back with a surgical date (I've left numerous messages, thinking of camping out in their waiting room).  I do have an MRI scheduled for this Friday as the doctor will be going in robotically and wants the best possible images.

I'm 49 and otherwise in excellent health.i did have to start beta blockers as my blood pressure shot up with each Doctor visit.

 

thank you for any help/advice you can give. I appreciate it.

Optimisticgirl

Varies

My husband had his surgery 3 1/2 weeks after diagnosis.  Dr. said there was no hurry as most tumors grow slowly, it just depended on the scheduling of the Davinci robot to do the surgery.

jason.2835

Depends

Calicocat101,

Really depends on a lot of factors, but my experience with myself (about 1 month) and talking with others seems to be about 1 to 1.5 months wait.  Some surgeons are in very high demand and booked up for many weeks, plus depending on the risk factor of the cancer (ie large tumor) they can put some patients before others for emergency situations.  So it can seem like a long wait, but if you are going to a hospital in high demand, I would expect to wait anywhere between 1 to 2 months, depending on how high risk they deem your case.  In my case, I had an MRI ordered before even speaking with the surgeon, so he was already had everything he needed.  But it's pretty normal that they want to wait until the imaging is done before giving you a hard date.  To quote the late, great Tom Petty, "the Waiting is the hardest part."

- Jay

DreamOnDeb

My husband was diagnosed in

My husband was diagnosed in May, and his surgery was in August (3 months).

jas75

My experience concurs with

My experience concurs with the timeframe of 1-2 months between diagnosis and surgery. The initial CT scan that first revealed the kidney tumor was in mid October last year, then the detailed abdominal scan with IV contrast at the end of October, with the nephrectomy taking place on the first of December. The tumor was no larger in the pathology report after removal compared to the abdominal scan, and the surgeon was not concerned about it growing during the waiting period. 

November was certainly a month full of anticipation and anxiety, so I can sympathize with what you are going through. It's still frustrating to have no clear root cause of the RCC, given that I'm a lifelong nonsmoker in good shape physically in my early 40s. Maybe check your doctor's patient portal if they have one, since there was a tentative calendar entry for my surgery date before I was notified officially. Hopefully you will get some more answers soon.

stub1969

Lucky

I felt pretty lucky in how my pre surgery went.  I was diagnosed in our small rural hosptal on a Thursday and told that the urologist would be contacting me in a week or two.  I didn't wait around and made an electronic appointment request to Mayo (Rochester, MN) on a Saturday.  They contacted me on Monday morning and scheduled an appointment with the surgeon for the next week.  I was on the table a week and a half later.  

Unless it is an emergency, I think you'll find it takes an average of a month or two from diagnosis to table.

Stub

icemantoo

Golf

A lot depends on the Surgeon's golf scheduke , just kidding. Those done relatively quickly tend to be larger and you do not want to takr cutd to be in that line. At 5.5 cm it is not large, but it is not small either. Do what you have to do to get it over with. I waited almost 3 months.

 

 

Icemanntoo

love_of_my_life

6 Weeks

My wife had surgery 6 weeks after first discovery.  She wanted a biopsy first for confirmation which extended things out a bit.

AnnissaP

Had appt with urologist on

Had appt with urologist on Sept. 21st. Just saw the oncologist/surgeon two days ago and surgery will be Nov.7th. Too long of a wait if you ask me. Once they tell you there is a solid mass your life changes....then you wait. At least if you get a surgery date you know something will be done about it!! Good luck. I too am a non-smoker, non-drinker and avid exerciser.

Wehavenotimeatall

4 weeks and 1 day

during the busy holiday period 

At the time  the waiting was horrendous but behind  it all appointments and tests were being carried out and then getting the right surgery slot was very important    

plus they will want you in the best condition for the surgery

however yesterday is not soon enough so I pray you get a date soon

i have not had the pathology report yet but Surgeon did not think there was any change between my CT scan and the tumour he saw

I pray it is quick

Annie

 

 

Hd67xlch

2 days for me.....

I had my ct scans on a Friday morning and was just  told the diagnosis, and then I was waiting at the scheduling counter and was told it was going to be a month out before they could do mine, but the nurse called the DR over and told him his Monday 7am surgery patient had just cancelled. I looked at my wife and said lets do it, best thing I ever did, got it over with and didnt have to sit around and worry about it.

BoondockSaint

It was exactly one month to

It was exactly one month to the day for my wifes surgery. Pretty timely I thought. We wanted that sucker out ASAP!!!!

APny

I was diagnosed beginning of

I was diagnosed beginning of January and surgery was March 17th. So a bit over two months. It was supposed to be in February but I got a horrible chest cold and they didn't want to risk anesthesia with the cough and congestion I had.

foxhd

Welcome to

the health care world. Even when there are rules and safety measures in place, everything can be an exception. Standard medical practices vary everywhere. My suggestion is to learn as much as you can as fast as you can. Be confident about how your cancer will be addressed. Good things happen when you and your doctor can sit and both be on the same page when you talk. Be sure of options and when to choose them.

BTW, I had to be admitted to hosp for uncontrolled pain. Had my radical neph 2-3 days later. No waiting what so ever. Everyone agrees that the wait is excruciating.

Rob57

2 weeks

I was diagnosed on a Thursday, saw a uroligist on the next Tuesday and had my left kdney removed the following Tuesday. My tumor was 5.5 cm x 7.1 cm and encased in the kidney. Doctor said that he could have done a partial, but recommended removal of the whole kidney. That was in May, 2012.

Calicocat101

Optimisticgirl said:

Varies

My husband had his surgery 3 1/2 weeks after diagnosis.  Dr. said there was no hurry as most tumors grow slowly, it just depended on the scheduling of the Davinci robot to do the surgery.

Thank you

thank you so much to everyone who responded.  This really helps to at least get an idea of what to expect.  It's hard enough to have this crazy thing in my body let alone wondering when it will come out and wondering if there will be any further effects from it.

Calicocat101

Rob57 said:

2 weeks

I was diagnosed on a Thursday, saw a uroligist on the next Tuesday and had my left kdney removed the following Tuesday. My tumor was 5.5 cm x 7.1 cm and encased in the kidney. Doctor said that he could have done a partial, but recommended removal of the whole kidney. That was in May, 2012.

Thank you!

wow, so you are past the 5 year mark. Congratulations.  Thank you for taking the time to let me know

Calicocat101

AnnissaP said:

Had appt with urologist on

Had appt with urologist on Sept. 21st. Just saw the oncologist/surgeon two days ago and surgery will be Nov.7th. Too long of a wait if you ask me. Once they tell you there is a solid mass your life changes....then you wait. At least if you get a surgery date you know something will be done about it!! Good luck. I too am a non-smoker, non-drinker and avid exerciser.

Thank you!

thank you for responding.  I feel like I'm in a really weird dream and can't seem to wake up.  It's such an odd feeling, especially knowing it has been there for several years.  Good luck to you too!

Bay Area Guy

My lesion was discovered in

My lesion was discovered in December, 2013 and I had surgery in June, 2016, so 2-1/2 years.  Mine was quite small at discoery, something like 1.5 or 1.6cm.  The urologic oncologist I had said the standard of care for lesions that size was to monitor.  When an ultrasound determined that it had grown to 1.7cm in April, 2106, the decision was made to take it out and that happened two months later, mainly because that was the first opening the surgeon had.

AnnissaP

Calicocat101 said:

Thank you!

thank you for responding.  I feel like I'm in a really weird dream and can't seem to wake up.  It's such an odd feeling, especially knowing it has been there for several years.  Good luck to you too!

Omg me too! I see the images

Omg me too! I see the images and hear the doctors but do not connect it with being me. I feel like my feet are not on the ground. Maybe it is a coping mechanism??? I am waiting for reality to settle in :-( By the way, I am 38 and in great health as well.....

medic1971

12 weeks and 3 day

My length was a bit longer.  I had already seen a urologist here in my home town and even had surgery scheduled, but my gut told me I need to go to MD Anderson.  I meet with the folks at MD Anderson and they discovered a second mass on my right kidney that on my original films... No one here ever mentioned a second tumor.  Oct 23rd 2015 I had two tumors removed from my right kidney.  One was 2.2cm and the other was only 0.8cm.  I kept more than 95% of my kidney.  I've had no issues since.