Radical Nephrectomy on 08-11-11

icemantoo said:

Hang in there.
Rob,


I had my surgery (Radical Nepherectomy) on 8.1.02 at age 59 and I am doing fine now. In order to respond openly and honestly about your friend can you give us some information about his tumor; size, type, etc. so that I and others do not respond inapropriately.


Best wishes,

Icemantoo

Jamie1.3cm said:

nephrectomy on the 11th
The small tumors generally don't metastasize. What is small? I'd say 4cm or smaller. But I know several larger ones that just never metastasized. The largest one I've read about this summer was 33cm. And typically -- although I've seen exceptions -- kidney cancer is a very slow growing cancer, like colon cancer.

I'm guessing they're planning on the radical (total) nephrectomy because they want to do it laproscopically? Sometimes you can get by with a partial nephrectomy, but it usually involves a more complicated surgery. If he has his surgery done laproscopically, he'll recover more quickly with less pain. But his choice of surgery depends on the size and location of the tumor. Be sure to have the doctor give a medical reason for the type of surgery planned.

It's important to know that people live just fine on one kidney.

Be sure to have the house ready for when he returns. I recovered quickly: Had surgery on Monday. Went home on Thursday. But that was considered fast for my open surgery. But when I got home, I was certainly in no condition to change sheets any time soon, carry in cat litter, or things of that nature. Stock up. And you might want to think about a shower chair. A shower with a hand-held head is also helpful.

If he needs more pain meds, don't hesitate to ask for them. Encourage him to speak up and be honest about his pain level. There are no extra points for stoicism.

How long before he really feels like himself again depends on the type of surgery he has. I'm 8 weeks post-op, and I swam laps tonight. The first 6 weeks were pretty rough, though.

Expect a follow-up ct scan the first 6 months to a year after surgery.

Excellent

donna_lee said:

Dad will come thru
Hi Rob-
I won't bore you with lotsa details, as I have posted a number of times under "donna_lee". I was 63 at time of first surgery, 64 at recurrence and 65 at the second recurrence.
The surgery takes it's toll on the body, as does the anesthesia. One kidney has to learn how to handle everything. Digestion has slowed down. I remember finding a noodle in my hospital broth and thinking that I was on solid food.
If Dad is on meds for BP, cholesterol, or anything else, make sure the primary care doc knows and monitors him regularly. Cut back on salt, if he hasn't already, take plenty of fluids, try to stay nourished. Liquid dietary supplements such as Ensure, Muscle Milk, or even a milkshake seemed to go down when I was getting my digestive processes back.
Mild exercise-walking, getting out of a chair, personal hygiene tasks, going to a park for a picnic and sitting in the sunshine-will probably be the extent of exercise the first week or two. After that there will more than likely be a few days of feeling great, a plateau, and then an uphill improvement. This will alternate for several weeks until he says he's doing well and hasn't been so tired lately.
I have only had tests and surgery. No Radiation, no drug therapy, as neither is effective at "curing" kidney cancer. Thus far, my mets have all been able to be excised surgically, and the organs or nodes were ones I could live without.
Your dad is lucky to have someone like you by his side. I would encourage you both to find an "in-person" cancer support group. They are a benefit to both the patient and the caregiver as you both are going through parallel processes, but maybe not at the same time.
Best wishes, and give Dad a hug.
Donna

niprut said:

Hope all goes well
Hi Rob,

I hope the op goes according to plan. A little bit of the "ugly" for me was the amount of pain and discomfort I went through from constipation and trying to move my bowels. They say don't strain but I tell you I had no choice and the body went through more than it should have after surgery. In the end my urologist tripled the recommended dose of a product ordered by the doctor and finally I got some relief. My bowel had been in spasm on and off for about two days. They say this can be caused by the pain relief medication. If I had known side effect of medication I may not have pushed the button so freely to alleviate the initial pain. Make sure all is done to avoid constipation if this is to be an issue.

Hope this helps,

Jo

Ljordan00 said:

Gas Pains
I just posted a question about my mother's post surgery pain/constipation/gas pains and loss of appetite. Rae Rae gave me some great advice about making my mom eat small portions of food on a regular basis throughout the day.

I started this with her today. The multiple tiny meals throughout the day and mild exercise (walking a couple of blocks and back)did help (along with a 200mg tablet of Vicodin of course)but still, she ate more today than she has since her surgery. Her weight has been dropping dramatically, so it's really important that she keep eating and this was a way to do it while keeping her gas pains at a minimum.

Prepare some easy to eat meals that are somewhat on the bland side. Homemade soups, yogurt, smoothies, fruits high in iron like cherries, apricots, and prunes, water, etc. .

ejneary said:

Here are the things that helped me get through that period...

1. Someone there at the hospital to take notes on what to do when you get home, what meds you should be on and how often...
2. Someone at home when I got there.
3. A walker (needed it for a week afterward) and I was 45 at the time!!!
4. An elevated toilet seat with handles (Believe me, don't skimp here!!!)
5. Plenty of pain meds and an alarm clock that goes off when it is time to take them (You DO NOT want the pain to get out of control because it is hard to get back on top of it)
6. Puddings, tapioca, jello, easy stuff to eat
7. LOTs of liquids (Iced Tea, water, club soda and cranberry juice)
8. TV remote close by the sofa or chair
9. Rent a medical chair if you can afford it (The kind that sits you all the way up to standing and that you can lay flat in)
10. movies (I couldn't read because of the pain meds but got bored easily)
11. Hibi cleanse to wash the wound with for the weeks after the surgery
12. fresh gauze for the wound
13. Keep the meds refreshed...

Good Luck