Here we go!

slydav

I’m a 49 married ,mother of two. This summer I was experiencing some back pain and went to 6 weeks of physical therapy and nothing seemed to work. Finally I was able to get an MRI. A 11 cm mass was found on my left kidney. On Thursday I’m going in to get a nephrectomy as well as my left ovary removed. Doctor seems optimistic that they’ll be able to get all the cancer in the surgery. I feel so fortunate that it was found I’m getting a little scared about the surgery itself and the healing afterward it’s nice to have a group like this with people of similar stories.

AliceB1950

Most of us on here have had partial or full nephrectomies, so take that as proof that it's not too horrible! Are you having open or laparascopicsurgery?

slydav

I have to have my whole kidney removed. Im having open.

AliceB1950

I hope someone who's had open surgery will stop by and tell you about their experience.

ktrett03

I’m sorry you are having to go through this, but know that you are not alone. I just hit my 3 week mark post open nephrectomy. Mine was a little over 9 cm. I spent 3 nights in the hospital and wish I would have advocated more for pain control. I only had as needed medications and nothing routine, so my mom and I were having to set timers to ask for medications. If I got behind on my pain control it took a while to recover. I have purchased some toddler/camping size pillows which have really helped with positioning and splinting of my abdomen. Coughing, sneezing, hiccups (the worst) will be painful in the hospital but having the pillow to press into your stomach really helps. I wish I would’ve had that in the hospital with me. Keep on top of the breathing exercises with the incentive spirometer as the incision runs near your diaphragm and will make taking deep breaths feel uncomfortable. From what I’ve heard from others the nerve pain around the incision typically subsides after a couple months.

Week 1 was honestly a blur for me. I slept a lot on my couch. Getting in/out of bed at nighttime seemed to be when the pain was at the worst. Bloating/constipation was an issue. I would suggest to have them start you on stool softeners in the hospital as I didn’t start until I was home and then laxatives wouldn’t work at that point and had to go the suppository route.

I did use a walker for about a week post op as it helped me feel steadier on my feet with the loss of abdominal strength. I’m now doing walks around the neighborhood at a slower pace, but it feels great to get outside and enjoy the sunshine.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. I live alone, and have had to rely on my family members to come over and help me out with meals, house chores, errands etc. I’m going back to work next week and already know that I will probably need help at nights after working all day. Luckily I have a wonderful support system.

I had my first oncology appointment yesterday and feel more at peace having a treatment plan.

You will get through this! Let me know if you have any other specific questions regarding surgery or things to bring.

csnmcgee284

I'm in my late 50s and was in pretty good health until blood showed up in my urine, but only for one day then it was gone. As it turned out, my tumor was 14cm and had invaded the renal vein and inferior vena cava. The only option was open radical nephrectomy along with cava thrombectomy. The hospital stay was four days. It wasn't easy, but the hospital staff stayed on top of the pain. When you get discharged, your doctor will prescribe potent pain pills. Before you leave the hospital, contact your pharmacy to make sure they got the prescription as you don't want to be without pain relief those 1st few days at home.

Getting back to walking was very important. Even the day after surgery, they had me walk short distances. When you get home, you'll need to walk increasing distances as time goes on.

During the first few weeks at home, you will need help. This is something you can't do by yourself. For me I had my wife who did everything for me - I owe her big time now :) It's now been 12 weeks and I'm 75% back to normal. The only thing I can't do yet is jog - that still hurts. My doctor warned me about the possibility of permanent nerve damage near the incision and that's what happened. For me it's complete numbness. There was skin pain but that's subsided.

There's been a few other great responses in this thread regarding the spirometer and the coughing pillow. That advice was spot on.