Nodules in lungs after Kidney Cancer

love4life
love4life Member Posts: 40
in Kidney Cancer #1
Hi everyone,
You may remember I posted a while ago about my mom having breathing problems. She received some unfortunate news that she has nodules in both her lungs. They are going to do a needle biopsy next week to find out for sure if it's from the kidney cancer or if by chance it's from her appendix she had taken out last year that had possible cancer that she was not made aware of until now. It's been a long haul and I'm feeling overwhelmed right now. My mom is only 67 and to me that's too young for her to have to deal with what lies ahead. To make matters worse she is alone and I only have one sister that lives 2 hours away. I don't mind taking care of mom and I want to make sure she gets the best possible care she can but my mom worries about me worrying about her and sometimes she holds back things or glosses over things. For instance - the doctor called and told her she has to have some type of ablation on her remaining kidney. She said "oh, by the way they said after I have my biopsy they will need to do an ablation". That's all she said about it and I have a zillion questions for her but know she doesn't really want to talk about it right now. One of my first questions is how soon will they do the ablation after the biopsy? We meet with the oncologist 10 days after she has her biopsy and we already know she will be put on a pill. I know it will be a chemo pill but I'm not sure she does. My aunt went with her to the doctors appointment last week so I wasn't there when this was discussed but my aunt didn't even realize it was probably a chemo pill when they finished talking to the doctor and she's someone that doesn't miss many details.

I'm trying to respect my mom's right to privacy and not bring things up until she is ready so I guess that's why I'm writing this here. When my mom's kidney was removed the doctor told us it was a very, very aggressive cancer and he repeated it to my mom and aunt at their meeting with him the other day.

I am fortunate to have 2 aunts that are willing to help however they can. They already lost a brother to cancer and want to do all they can to help my mom. The doctor did tell my mom this isn't something they can operate on and that it's not curable but that medicine can help extend her life with quality of life too.

Can anyone tell me how they do the ablation? Will it be done laproscopic? I just am looking for a few answers right now.

To add to the confusion we are supposed to be taking a family trip with my mom, sister, my children, my husband and me in 3 weeks. If my mom can't go I'm considering cancelling the trip but I know she won't stand for that. I'm also thinking if we can work it out that we should all still go and have one big celebration with her before the chaos begins.

Thanks for taking time to read this.

Comments

  • angec
    angec Member Posts: 924 Member
    #2
    Sorry to hear about your
    Sorry to hear about your mom. My mom has cancer also and i know it is very difficult. I don't know how you or your mom feel about alternative treatments but this doc is helping us right now.... I hope things go well. Will send out prayers for you and us all.

    www.drpbanerji.com
  • alice124
    alice124 Member Posts: 896 Member
    #3
    angec said:

    Sorry to hear about your
    Sorry to hear about your mom. My mom has cancer also and i know it is very difficult. I don't know how you or your mom feel about alternative treatments but this doc is helping us right now.... I hope things go well. Will send out prayers for you and us all.

    www.drpbanerji.com

    Sorry
    love4life and angec,

    So sorry you are going through this. I know it's hard. I'm dealing with the same thing with my husband, John (stage4/grade4 clear cell carcinoma) and, while we are still in search of that magic bullet, we're buying time wherever we can and making each day a day to celebrate.

    After reading on this board about Dr. Gerald White from Texas Wedge, I ordered for my husband Dr. White's book, "Three Months to Life" combined with CD "The MAARS Journey." We've just started listening to it. (I even enjoy it as it's quite relaxing.)

    But back to the point about this. While I originally thought my husband would balk at the idea, he has embraced it wholeheartedly. Dr. White talks about awakening your fighter cells to combat the cancer, and--when you think about it--this is what immunotherapy is. It just makes you a part of the healing process. Everyday people beat cancer. So keeping that in mind, you can work to be a part of that esteemed group.

    Another valuble aspect is it makes you feel like you are a part of the healing, not just a bystander waiting for your oncologist to start another treatment. Only time will tell if this will make a difference for John, but I know already I'm not sorry for buying it and I'm hopeful it will make a difference.

    I think one of the worst things for kidney cancer patients is the feeling that everything is beyond their control. Practicing the exercises discussed in this book and CD, gives you some of the control back. Here's his link if you want to check it out:


    http://cancerwarsmaarsjourney.com/?p=290

    My thoughts and prayers are with you.
  • love4life
    love4life Member Posts: 40
    #4
    alice124 said:

    Sorry
    love4life and angec,

    So sorry you are going through this. I know it's hard. I'm dealing with the same thing with my husband, John (stage4/grade4 clear cell carcinoma) and, while we are still in search of that magic bullet, we're buying time wherever we can and making each day a day to celebrate.

    After reading on this board about Dr. Gerald White from Texas Wedge, I ordered for my husband Dr. White's book, "Three Months to Life" combined with CD "The MAARS Journey." We've just started listening to it. (I even enjoy it as it's quite relaxing.)

    But back to the point about this. While I originally thought my husband would balk at the idea, he has embraced it wholeheartedly. Dr. White talks about awakening your fighter cells to combat the cancer, and--when you think about it--this is what immunotherapy is. It just makes you a part of the healing process. Everyday people beat cancer. So keeping that in mind, you can work to be a part of that esteemed group.

    Another valuble aspect is it makes you feel like you are a part of the healing, not just a bystander waiting for your oncologist to start another treatment. Only time will tell if this will make a difference for John, but I know already I'm not sorry for buying it and I'm hopeful it will make a difference.

    I think one of the worst things for kidney cancer patients is the feeling that everything is beyond their control. Practicing the exercises discussed in this book and CD, gives you some of the control back. Here's his link if you want to check it out:


    http://cancerwarsmaarsjourney.com/?p=290

    My thoughts and prayers are with you.

    Thank you
    Thank you very much for having taken the time to read my post and for the suggestions of things to check into. My mom and I haven't really sat down and talked about what is going on. I think she's trying to be positive but because I wasn't with her when she met with the dr. I'm not even sure if she really understands what is going on with her body at this time. When she told me about the cryogenic ablation she mentioned it like an after thought and said "oh yeah, by the way". The next couple of weeks will tell us where things stand now. She has her biopsy on Wednesday and then next week we meet with the oncologist. I already have a bunch of questions ready and I recommended that my sister join us at the Dr.'s appt. so there's one more person hearing what they are telling us. I love my mom dearly and want to help her however I can but not exactly sure what it is I can do to help right now other than be there. I'm afraid if I say too much she will just get mad and then shut me out and I don't want that. I do have a good idea of what she's facing because I have a friend who's mom is going through the exact same thing and we talk about everything going on with her mom all the time. I don't want to scare my mom or push her away so for now I just listen and do what she asks of me and pray to God that he gets her through the days ahead of her.
  • Fishknees
    Fishknees Member Posts: 73
    #5
    love4life said:

    Thank you
    Thank you very much for having taken the time to read my post and for the suggestions of things to check into. My mom and I haven't really sat down and talked about what is going on. I think she's trying to be positive but because I wasn't with her when she met with the dr. I'm not even sure if she really understands what is going on with her body at this time. When she told me about the cryogenic ablation she mentioned it like an after thought and said "oh yeah, by the way". The next couple of weeks will tell us where things stand now. She has her biopsy on Wednesday and then next week we meet with the oncologist. I already have a bunch of questions ready and I recommended that my sister join us at the Dr.'s appt. so there's one more person hearing what they are telling us. I love my mom dearly and want to help her however I can but not exactly sure what it is I can do to help right now other than be there. I'm afraid if I say too much she will just get mad and then shut me out and I don't want that. I do have a good idea of what she's facing because I have a friend who's mom is going through the exact same thing and we talk about everything going on with her mom all the time. I don't want to scare my mom or push her away so for now I just listen and do what she asks of me and pray to God that he gets her through the days ahead of her.

    Good luck!
    Good luck with your Mom.

    This may sound dumb; but, have you asked your Mom what she wants to do?
  • love4life
    love4life Member Posts: 40
    #6
    Fishknees said:

    Good luck!
    Good luck with your Mom.

    This may sound dumb; but, have you asked your Mom what she wants to do?

    Not a dumb question
    That is definitely not a dumb question. I have asked her in the past but not in the past week because I think all these new developments are still soaking in and she's not 100% got a handle on what's coming her way. I wouldn't know all about this if it weren't for my friend's mom going through the same thing so I think I owe her the right to hear from the Dr's. what to expect, etc. and then talk about it all.
  • Texas_wedge
    Texas_wedge Member Posts: 2,798
    #7
    love4life said:

    Not a dumb question
    That is definitely not a dumb question. I have asked her in the past but not in the past week because I think all these new developments are still soaking in and she's not 100% got a handle on what's coming her way. I wouldn't know all about this if it weren't for my friend's mom going through the same thing so I think I owe her the right to hear from the Dr's. what to expect, etc. and then talk about it all.

    Way ahead
    That sounds to me like a very sensible plan.

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