New to all this!

daid1
daid1 Member Posts: 9
in Kidney Cancer #1
Hello, I hope im in the right place. I just had a upper pole partical nephrectomy on my left kidney on May 10,2012. I dont know the size or stage but the surgan said it was the size of a golf ball. I also have a cyst on he same kidney and one on the right also, they say they look like just fluid filled and common. Im in recovery from the surgry and wondering how long this is gona take to get back to normal. I caint seem to get ride of the soreness and still have some stomach pains,its very depressing. I have many questions and concerns. I tell myself it was just a small thing and it will be over soon, but that word CANCER it aweful. Do I count myself as a cancer survivor or am i going to far? Any way i have been reading some posts on here and feel like i can get alot of answers and support.

Comments

  • icemantoo
    icemantoo Member Posts: 3,361 Member
    #2
    Golfballs
    daid1,

    You sure are lucky it was the size of a golfball rather than a hardball or softball. A golfball is 4.27cm and is in the upper range where the cure is close to 100% following your initiation (surgery). At 20 days out you are still going to feel a little sore, but that goes with the territory.

    Funny thing how that word Cancer scares the s... out of us. We have all been there and done that. From what you posted, you had Cancer and do not have it anymore. Everything will be fine from now on as far as I can see. Just for fun (yeah) I went thru the same thing 10 years ago (except they were not doing partials than) and have lived happilier ever after since.

    Icemantoo
  • DogRescuer
    DogRescuer Member Posts: 52 Member
    #3
    YOU ARE A SURVIVOR!
    .....if you had cancer and you're alive! You are definitely a cancer survivor and are part of our tribe! Welcome!

    I had a full nephrectomy on Feb 27th and remember thinking I must be such a wimp because I was still sore and needing pain pills at 3 wks after surgery. However, that seemed to be the turning point and I recovered much quicker after that period.

    In fact 2 mos after my kidney surgery, I had back surgery. (They accidentally found a huge kidney tumor, during a spinal MRI looking for problems in my spine.) I had 4 levels fused in my spine and as hard as they say back surgery is, I found that the kidney surgery was much harder to recover from!

    So in my experience your soreness sounds quite similar to what I was feeling at the same stage.

    Celebrate that the surgery was successful and you'll quickly be returning to your regular life soon.
  • garym
    garym Member Posts: 1,647
    #4
    Welcome to the club...
    daid1,

    You have come to the right place, and yes, you are a survivor. Its been 2-1/2 years since losing my left kidney to RCC and a golf ball sized tumor. Much depends on if your surgery was open, lap, or robotic, but you have reached about the half way point of recovery. Most of us have reported feeling "normal" again around 6 weeks post op, give or take. From this point forward you are likely to feel much better quickly, walking and drinking plenty of water helps to speed the process. Keep us posted as you progress, we're happy to help you through it.

    Hang in there,

    Gary
  • foxhd
    foxhd Member Posts: 3,181 Member
    #5
    garym said:

    Welcome to the club...
    daid1,

    You have come to the right place, and yes, you are a survivor. Its been 2-1/2 years since losing my left kidney to RCC and a golf ball sized tumor. Much depends on if your surgery was open, lap, or robotic, but you have reached about the half way point of recovery. Most of us have reported feeling "normal" again around 6 weeks post op, give or take. From this point forward you are likely to feel much better quickly, walking and drinking plenty of water helps to speed the process. Keep us posted as you progress, we're happy to help you through it.

    Hang in there,

    Gary

    welcome
    ........a lot of us talk golf balls here. So you are in the right place.
  • matchframe
    matchframe Member Posts: 58
    #6
    Yes, you are a survivor!
    This is the right place to be. I had a partial nephrectomy last September and it took me several months before all the soreness went away. Good news is it does go away! I also had a cyst which they took out as well so I think that is sort of normal to have those. Hang around here and you are among those who have been through or are going through that same as you. Keep us updated with your progress!
  • daid1
    daid1 Member Posts: 9
    #7
    garym said:

    Welcome to the club...
    daid1,

    You have come to the right place, and yes, you are a survivor. Its been 2-1/2 years since losing my left kidney to RCC and a golf ball sized tumor. Much depends on if your surgery was open, lap, or robotic, but you have reached about the half way point of recovery. Most of us have reported feeling "normal" again around 6 weeks post op, give or take. From this point forward you are likely to feel much better quickly, walking and drinking plenty of water helps to speed the process. Keep us posted as you progress, we're happy to help you through it.

    Hang in there,

    Gary

    Surgery
    Thank you Gary,

    The surgery was robotic, wich i understand is much easier on you than the others. My Dr. said i should have less recovery time but it is no small surgery like some would think. On my follow up he told me they had to " rearange my furniture " so they could get to my kidney. Thank you for the support,im sure i will need more lol. Im also dealing with some emotional things that i didnt expect.



    Thanks again,

    Daid
  • daid1
    daid1 Member Posts: 9
    #8
    matchframe said:

    Yes, you are a survivor!
    This is the right place to be. I had a partial nephrectomy last September and it took me several months before all the soreness went away. Good news is it does go away! I also had a cyst which they took out as well so I think that is sort of normal to have those. Hang around here and you are among those who have been through or are going through that same as you. Keep us updated with your progress!

    matchframe
    Thanks for the info and suppoert, I think talking to you guys on here will help me along the way. By the way i need to have check ups and scans but i didnt ask alot of questions.
    Who handles that most of the time? I havent seen an Oncologist yet. My Urologist did the surgery and told me it was malignant but he is sure he got it all. I see the kidney Dr. that was at the surgery in a couple of weaks. I guess i should just ask my Urologist when i see him in three weaks to get the stint out. I wish i would have asked more questions but i was trying to take it all in.
  • daid1
    daid1 Member Posts: 9
    #9
    foxhd said:

    welcome
    ........a lot of us talk golf balls here. So you are in the right place.

    Foxhd
    Thanks alot i look forward to the info you guys can share!

    Daid
  • daid1
    daid1 Member Posts: 9
    #10
    icemantoo said:

    Golfballs
    daid1,

    You sure are lucky it was the size of a golfball rather than a hardball or softball. A golfball is 4.27cm and is in the upper range where the cure is close to 100% following your initiation (surgery). At 20 days out you are still going to feel a little sore, but that goes with the territory.

    Funny thing how that word Cancer scares the s... out of us. We have all been there and done that. From what you posted, you had Cancer and do not have it anymore. Everything will be fine from now on as far as I can see. Just for fun (yeah) I went thru the same thing 10 years ago (except they were not doing partials than) and have lived happilier ever after since.

    Icemantoo

    Icemantoo
    Thanks for the info, and support. If you dont mind me asking,was the emotional part of it hard on you or am i going overboard and having selfpity?
  • daid1
    daid1 Member Posts: 9
    #11
    DogRescuer said:

    YOU ARE A SURVIVOR!
    .....if you had cancer and you're alive! You are definitely a cancer survivor and are part of our tribe! Welcome!

    I had a full nephrectomy on Feb 27th and remember thinking I must be such a wimp because I was still sore and needing pain pills at 3 wks after surgery. However, that seemed to be the turning point and I recovered much quicker after that period.

    In fact 2 mos after my kidney surgery, I had back surgery. (They accidentally found a huge kidney tumor, during a spinal MRI looking for problems in my spine.) I had 4 levels fused in my spine and as hard as they say back surgery is, I found that the kidney surgery was much harder to recover from!

    So in my experience your soreness sounds quite similar to what I was feeling at the same stage.

    Celebrate that the surgery was successful and you'll quickly be returning to your regular life soon.

    DogRescuer
    Thanks for the info and support. Im very glad i found this site and can share with everyones experiences. I can already tell this is gona help me out so much. Thanks again!
  • adobe
    adobe Member Posts: 72
    #12
    daid1 said:

    matchframe
    Thanks for the info and suppoert, I think talking to you guys on here will help me along the way. By the way i need to have check ups and scans but i didnt ask alot of questions.
    Who handles that most of the time? I havent seen an Oncologist yet. My Urologist did the surgery and told me it was malignant but he is sure he got it all. I see the kidney Dr. that was at the surgery in a couple of weaks. I guess i should just ask my Urologist when i see him in three weaks to get the stint out. I wish i would have asked more questions but i was trying to take it all in.

    encouragement
    Stay with us! This site helped me through and gave alot of info and answers. Hope your day is going well!
  • icemantoo
    icemantoo Member Posts: 3,361 Member
    #13
    daid1 said:

    matchframe
    Thanks for the info and suppoert, I think talking to you guys on here will help me along the way. By the way i need to have check ups and scans but i didnt ask alot of questions.
    Who handles that most of the time? I havent seen an Oncologist yet. My Urologist did the surgery and told me it was malignant but he is sure he got it all. I see the kidney Dr. that was at the surgery in a couple of weaks. I guess i should just ask my Urologist when i see him in three weaks to get the stint out. I wish i would have asked more questions but i was trying to take it all in.

    Follow up
    daid1,

    Generally your Urologist who did the surgery will do the follow up. Those Urologists doing this surgery generally have an Oncology background as far as your Urologiic situation (your plumbing). For the first 2 years there are usually tests such as CTs Ultra sounds etc to verify there is no longer Cancer on your Kidneys or the Cancer has not reappeared. They will sometimes do a chest XRAY to verify that the RCC did not spread (if it spreads it goes to the lungs first). After 2 years they generally test yearly, It is also important to see a Kidney doctor(Nephrologist). The Nephrologist is concerned with your Kidney function which is naturally reduced by the surgery. If your Kidney function decreses this adversely effects your heart issues and sometimes could result in Kidney failure.

    Icemantoo
  • daid1
    daid1 Member Posts: 9
    #14
    icemantoo said:

    Follow up
    daid1,

    Generally your Urologist who did the surgery will do the follow up. Those Urologists doing this surgery generally have an Oncology background as far as your Urologiic situation (your plumbing). For the first 2 years there are usually tests such as CTs Ultra sounds etc to verify there is no longer Cancer on your Kidneys or the Cancer has not reappeared. They will sometimes do a chest XRAY to verify that the RCC did not spread (if it spreads it goes to the lungs first). After 2 years they generally test yearly, It is also important to see a Kidney doctor(Nephrologist). The Nephrologist is concerned with your Kidney function which is naturally reduced by the surgery. If your Kidney function decreses this adversely effects your heart issues and sometimes could result in Kidney failure.

    Icemantoo

    Answers
    Hey thanks this gives me a better picture of who does what. I just want to make sure i stay on top of things and see the right doctors. Im so glad they found the mass when they did. I feel very lucky and blessed. If it wasent for having Pancreatitis I might not have known anything until it spread elswhere. I guess the fear of it returning will always be there.

    Thanks again
    Daid

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