New to the site just diagnosed

littledarlin
littledarlin Member Posts: 102
in Kidney Cancer #1
I have just been diagnosed with a 3.9 cm x 5.2 multi locular cystic nephroma,it has been rated a 3 on the scale. I have come here for support from people who have been there..I have not decided on surgery yet and may opt to have a biospy first. They will try to do a partial but feel I will lose the whole kidney because the mass is close to some major arteries. I was wondering if I have surgery will I return to what I was before surgery in time. Anyway I am a bit scared of surgery..Thanks for listening...

Comments

  • icemantoo
    icemantoo Member Posts: 3,361 Member
    #2
    Surgey decision
    littledarlin,

    Get the surgery over with. Biopsies are not always accurate and the size of your cyst/tumor either indicates that it is Cancer or will become Cancer. So what. Surgery has a good chance of being a total cure if it does not get bigger or metastisizes. Cancer is a scary word and I sure was. There are few benign tumors more than 2 cm. So lets concentrate on curing the Cancer by having the surgery. Does it hurt? Yes, but this little baby got thru it and so can you.

    Best wishes.


    Icemantoo
  • littledarlin
    littledarlin Member Posts: 102
    #3
    icemantoo said:

    Surgey decision
    littledarlin,

    Get the surgery over with. Biopsies are not always accurate and the size of your cyst/tumor either indicates that it is Cancer or will become Cancer. So what. Surgery has a good chance of being a total cure if it does not get bigger or metastisizes. Cancer is a scary word and I sure was. There are few benign tumors more than 2 cm. So lets concentrate on curing the Cancer by having the surgery. Does it hurt? Yes, but this little baby got thru it and so can you.

    Best wishes.


    Icemantoo

    Surgery decision
    Thanks for the support Iceman..If you don't mind my asking. How long did it take for you to get back to normal after your surgery?

    Thanks

    littledarlin
  • icemantoo
    icemantoo Member Posts: 3,361 Member
    #4
    littledarlin said:

    Surgery decision
    Thanks for the support Iceman..If you don't mind my asking. How long did it take for you to get back to normal after your surgery?

    Thanks

    littledarlin

    Normal
    littledarlin,

    Normal has a lot to do with your age, health and difficulty of surgery. I could drive short distances after 10 days. I went on a hike after 6 weeks. I went on a cruise 5 months later. I went water skiing 11 months later. I was 59 at the time of my surgery. The swelling or bulge from the surgery took a year to go dowm.

    Icemantoo
  • littledarlin
    littledarlin Member Posts: 102
    #5
    icemantoo said:

    Normal
    littledarlin,

    Normal has a lot to do with your age, health and difficulty of surgery. I could drive short distances after 10 days. I went on a hike after 6 weeks. I went on a cruise 5 months later. I went water skiing 11 months later. I was 59 at the time of my surgery. The swelling or bulge from the surgery took a year to go dowm.

    Icemantoo

    Whats normal anyway :)))
    Icemantoo,

    Thanks for taking the time to respond. Very inspiring..I am about the age you were when you had your surgery so I should do just fine. I did interferon and rabavarin treatments for 6 months 7 years ago so I should be able to get through this too..

    Thanks again...
    littledarlin
  • KJones1969
    KJones1969 Member Posts: 158
    #6
    Do the surgery then you know
    Do the surgery then you know it will be out. My husband was diagnosed on February 18th and had a radical nephroectomy of the left kidney and tumor on March 15th. He is weak and tired but feeling better everyday.

    He goes back this Friday for the pathology report and to talk about how to treat the spots on his lungs. Good luck on making the right decision.
  • KJones1969
    KJones1969 Member Posts: 158
    #7
    Do the surgery then you know
    Do the surgery then you know it will be out. My husband was diagnosed on February 18th and had a radical nephroectomy of the left kidney and tumor on March 15th. He is weak and tired but feeling better everyday.

    He goes back this Friday for the pathology report and to talk about how to treat the spots on his lungs. Good luck on making the right decision.
  • KJones1969
    KJones1969 Member Posts: 158
    #8
    Do the surgery then you know
    Do the surgery then you know it will be out. My husband was diagnosed on February 18th and had a radical nephroectomy of the left kidney and tumor on March 15th. He is weak and tired but feeling better everyday.

    He goes back this Friday for the pathology report and to talk about how to treat the spots on his lungs. Good luck on making the right decision.
  • littledarlin
    littledarlin Member Posts: 102
    #9
    KJones1969 said:

    Do the surgery then you know
    Do the surgery then you know it will be out. My husband was diagnosed on February 18th and had a radical nephroectomy of the left kidney and tumor on March 15th. He is weak and tired but feeling better everyday.

    He goes back this Friday for the pathology report and to talk about how to treat the spots on his lungs. Good luck on making the right decision.

    Do the surgery
    Thank you KJones for responding and sharing your experience with me..It good to hear your husband is starting to feel a little better. Sending well wishes for you and your husband this Friday..

    Littledarlin...
  • garym
    garym Member Posts: 1,647
    #10
    littledarlin said:

    Whats normal anyway :)))
    Icemantoo,

    Thanks for taking the time to respond. Very inspiring..I am about the age you were when you had your surgery so I should do just fine. I did interferon and rabavarin treatments for 6 months 7 years ago so I should be able to get through this too..

    Thanks again...
    littledarlin

    Whats normal anyway :)))
    ld,

    Call it a "new normal", physically you will be back to your old self before you know it with only some possible minor diet changes. Mentally you will always remember the scare and look at life a bit differently than before, but I suspect based on the interferon and rabavarin treatments you already knew that. I'll soon be 61 and its been almost 2-1/2 years since my dx and surgery, I was back to work in 2 weeks and back to "normal" activity at about 6 weeks, and last fall I hiked the Grand Canyon rim2rim, this is just a bump in the road. Keep us posted and we'll help you through it.

    Good luck and Godspeed,

    Gary
  • Fishknees
    Fishknees Member Posts: 73
    #11
    littledarlin said:

    Do the surgery
    Thank you KJones for responding and sharing your experience with me..It good to hear your husband is starting to feel a little better. Sending well wishes for you and your husband this Friday..

    Littledarlin...

    Good luck!
    littledarlin, best of luck to you. I can't add much because I am new also. But, I wish you the best with whatever you decide.

    Just from my perspective, I can't live with the cancer in there so I have to have it out.
  • littledarlin
    littledarlin Member Posts: 102
    #12
    garym said:

    Whats normal anyway :)))
    ld,

    Call it a "new normal", physically you will be back to your old self before you know it with only some possible minor diet changes. Mentally you will always remember the scare and look at life a bit differently than before, but I suspect based on the interferon and rabavarin treatments you already knew that. I'll soon be 61 and its been almost 2-1/2 years since my dx and surgery, I was back to work in 2 weeks and back to "normal" activity at about 6 weeks, and last fall I hiked the Grand Canyon rim2rim, this is just a bump in the road. Keep us posted and we'll help you through it.

    Good luck and Godspeed,

    Gary

    Thank you Gary
    Thanks you so much Gary for you honest and compassionate response..I was feeling really scared this morning but after reading your post I am feeling much better about having the surgery..

    Littledarlin...
  • littledarlin
    littledarlin Member Posts: 102
    #13
    Fishknees said:

    Good luck!
    littledarlin, best of luck to you. I can't add much because I am new also. But, I wish you the best with whatever you decide.

    Just from my perspective, I can't live with the cancer in there so I have to have it out.

    Fishknees Good luck to you too!
    Thanks for the moral support this morning and wishing you a speedy recovery after your upcoming surgery..

    littledarlin...
  • livealive
    livealive Member Posts: 127
    #14
    littledarlin said:

    Fishknees Good luck to you too!
    Thanks for the moral support this morning and wishing you a speedy recovery after your upcoming surgery..

    littledarlin...

    Suregeries for the scared
    And believe me, we cannot compare our fears, we have no means of measuring and quantifying, but it's overwhelming to the person experiencing it. For me, I was more than scared, I almost passed out when the nurse started explaining to me what they will do, the doctor asked me to 'man up" from a chicken, my wife took over and handled everything, so I understand fear. But, that said, recovery was not bad compared to my imagination pre-surgery. Key points, leave your imagination at the door, they are very good at what they do (well, most of them anyway), stick to the facts, be demanding, don't take their word, push them, advocate for yourself, you will do fine in the surgery and after.
    My best wishes,
    Raj.
  • littledarlin
    littledarlin Member Posts: 102
    #15
    livealive said:

    Suregeries for the scared
    And believe me, we cannot compare our fears, we have no means of measuring and quantifying, but it's overwhelming to the person experiencing it. For me, I was more than scared, I almost passed out when the nurse started explaining to me what they will do, the doctor asked me to 'man up" from a chicken, my wife took over and handled everything, so I understand fear. But, that said, recovery was not bad compared to my imagination pre-surgery. Key points, leave your imagination at the door, they are very good at what they do (well, most of them anyway), stick to the facts, be demanding, don't take their word, push them, advocate for yourself, you will do fine in the surgery and after.
    My best wishes,
    Raj.

    ..Surgeries for the scared..Thanks Raj.
    Thank so much for the support..Good advice leaving the imagination at the door..
  • foxhd
    foxhd Member Posts: 3,181 Member
    #16
    littledarlin said:

    ..Surgeries for the scared..Thanks Raj.
    Thank so much for the support..Good advice leaving the imagination at the door..

    Do it
    I take the other road. I say get excited to have that sucker thrown in the dumpster. Tell your Dr. that you'll be glad to help sharpen her(his)swiss army knife if it saves time. There will be a bit of a beauty mark left, but big deal. Get your appointment date as soon as you can. I'll bet 10 to 1 you would want one of your kids to have a tumor removed pronto.
  • KJones1969
    KJones1969 Member Posts: 158
    #17
    littledarlin said:

    Do the surgery
    Thank you KJones for responding and sharing your experience with me..It good to hear your husband is starting to feel a little better. Sending well wishes for you and your husband this Friday..

    Littledarlin...

    Thank you!
    I wish you all the best on whatever decision you make. It is amazing how one trip to the doctor or hospital can turn your world upside down. I'll be praying for you and hope things go good for you.

    KJones
  • KJones1969
    KJones1969 Member Posts: 158
    #18
    foxhd said:

    Do it
    I take the other road. I say get excited to have that sucker thrown in the dumpster. Tell your Dr. that you'll be glad to help sharpen her(his)swiss army knife if it saves time. There will be a bit of a beauty mark left, but big deal. Get your appointment date as soon as you can. I'll bet 10 to 1 you would want one of your kids to have a tumor removed pronto.

    Good Response
    I said the same thing foxhd. When my husband was diagnosed there was not another choice for us to make. We decided it needed to come out asap to keep from causing more damage.

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