Todd,

All of us on this board have been told we have Kidney Cancer and that we need major surgery right out of the gate. That is enough to scare the sh.. out of anybody. It sure scare me when I was diagnosed almost 11 years ago.

Your tumors assuming they are cancerous are very, very small. The recovery rate from surgery alone for tumors under 4cm is as close to 100% as possilble. Obviously with a very small tumor in both kidneys they are not going to take out both kidneys. Alternative procedures include one or both being treated with a partial nephrectomy, a freezing procedure or RFA a zapping or burning procedure.

Your comment to just remove the kidneys and go on dialysis is akin to having an incurable brain tumor and giving up because you have a headache. Face it you are going to get thru this with flying colors with a combination of 2 procedues and or surgeries. You are not going to be on dialysis and there is no reason that from what you have told us that you are not going to be around in 17 years in relatively good heath when your son turns 21. Faye across the street from me is relatively heathy and she is 18 years post op. Whether she lives another 17 years when she will be 99 is anybody's guess, but she sure isn't giving up.

Now that you either have or will likely have Cancer as the cysts grow now is the time  to fight back and let every one know that you have Cancer, that your prognosis is very good to excellent  and your are going to fight back and kick Cancer on its ****. Meany members of our club who start out with much larger tumors in the 8 to 20 cm range would almost die for a diagnosis like yours. One thing worse than a diagnosis of Kidney Cancer is a diagnosis of Kidney Cancer where it has spread and at 1.1cm and 1.8 cm you are a long way from such a bleak diagnosis.

Remember everyone on this board has been diagnoed with Kidney Cancer and we are here to help you thru this initial shock. The quicker you pull yourself up and decide to fight back the better things will get.

Icemantoo

Cancer is going to be a part of your personality. As any other major paradigm shift in your life. You are who you are, cancer included. Hiding something which in the future will be a part of your mental framework isnt a good choice in my opinion. And whether its cancer, meeting God, finding the love of your life or something completely different, you should be open about it to your surroundings.

Keeping it secret is partially a denial. And believe me, denial is the last thing you need to deal with this mentally.

/G

Todd,

Welcome. At least we'll have no problem remembering each other's names!

I'd keep my kidneys for awhile. Don't rush. You didn't mention your age? Cysts are common as we get older. They can pretty well tell from the CT scan if it's likely to be RCC or not (about 90% of what they think is RCC, really is). Hopefully you're seeing a urologic oncologist at this point? Someone who knows a lot about kidney cancer and cysts and is a surgeon?

Having a small tumor like that metastasize to the other kidney next is very, very rare. Unless you have one of the genetic conditions that predispose you to that. There's another member here that knows a great deal about that (he's had generations have family members with RCC). Hopefully both masses are not RCC.

Given their small size, depending on their location, you may be an excellent candidate for a partial nephrectomy so you can retain your kidney function.

These tumors usually grow pretty slow, so don't rush to make bad decisions. Get good advice. If you can get a medical oncologist that specializes in RCC, that's your best bet. If you likely have tumors in both kidneys, I would see a medical oncologist ASAP. One who specializes in RCC. There aren't a lot of them. I would not depend on a urologist/surgeon without medical oncology background. (Don't let the title urologic oncologist fool you. A medical oncologist normally has a background in hematology and is an internal medicine doctor. It's a different specialty.)

I was like you and didn't want to tell people. I think waiting until you know something is generally a good idea. On the other hand, I did tell everyone close to me really soon and I found it very helpful to have people know what was going on with me. Just be clear what you know and what you don't know but are worried about when you tell people what's going on with you. Telling people you have something, and then coming back and untelling and then later retelling a different story can cause issues. This is going to be an unfolding story.

In general, I found people to be very supportive and I was touched by their concern. It did seem to be at times that that's all people wanted to talk about (including me). When I'd had enough, I'd just say it. I'd say, "Let's talk about something else now. I've had enough of this." Or I'd even tell everyone at the beginning of dinner, "I know you have questions, let me answer them for you. Let's do it now, or at the end of dinner, but let's not talk about cancer for the entire meal." I also found it helpful to somewhat stick to answering people's questions. They sort of let you know they've had enough by not asking any more questions.

The other thing I did, was get a therapist through my work insurance. It costs me $25 a session, but she has to listen to me moan, complain, talk about difficult emotions, etc. that my family might not be able to listen to. This has helped. I've been seeing her once a week for a couple of months.

Hope something here helps. Best wishes,

Todd

todfloyd said:

Thanks so much for all the

By the way I am 45 years old in good health until now.

Thanks so much for all the help and advice.  I am not so sure why I was for this to not be known but now that is changing.  Loosing a great friend (or so I thought) for I didn't share what I was going thru threw me for a huge loop also.

I have shared with both my brothers for they needed to know.

I have my Mri and urologists appt thursday, so hopefully it will be shown to not be cancer.

I do have one more question,  if the mass on each kidney is cancerous, and it is determined that a partial nephrectomy is the suitable treatment on both kidneys.  Will it be possible that they perform a partial nephrectomy on both kidneys during the same operation? or wouild it have to be two seperate operations?

 

 

That is a great question to put your doctors.  However, it certainly is possible.  Here are a couple of articles that are pertinent:

"Synchronous nephrectomy with unilateral dual kidney transplantation: feasibility in patients with adult polycystic kidney disease"

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22941144

"Simultaneous Laparoscopic Radical Nephrectomy and Laparoscopic Sigmoidectomy for Synchronous Renal Cell Carcinoma and Colonic Adenocarcinoma"

http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/1092642041255496?journalCode=lap

Tell people who need to know at work that you've got cancer and how you're dealing with it.  Word will spread, and some people may ask about it.  Just tell them you're working on it.  I didn't tell any relatives other than my immediate family until I had a surgery date set, and didn't make an "announcement" until my wife posted on my Facebook account that I was out of surgery and everything went well.  Generally, "I've got cancer" is usually followed by an awkward pause in conversation, but "I had cancer and the doctor got that sucker all out" is a good way to let people know.

I wouldn't hold back from telling the truth. It happens, and yes I know people look at u with pity, but some will respect u, pray for u and give u words of encouragment.

I had my left kidney removed 3/2/2012, the cancer then spread to certain bone areas, but thru the grace of god and radiation treatments, so far so good.

Godspeed and hope things go well, I am sure they will and will keep u in my prayers.

Stay well todd speak to u soon.

foxhd said:

just lie

If after your scans and surgery you find out that you do or don't have cancer, just lie to everyone. If you can feel good about it ,do it. Or tell the truth. I don't carry a sign around, but it is no longer a secret. One less weight on your shoulders. I don't believe that anyone you know, that you care about, should be an issue for you. To me it is like the girl with a bad reputation in high school. After a while, everybody has done it. So, just get over it and move on. Those with big mouths become insignificant. You will know who your friends really are.

I guess I need to stop stopping people on the street and telling them!    LOL