Symptoms or lack of symptoms

my husband has stage 4 and was dx in June, 2013; he had hip pain for a year which his internist treated with advil and physical therapist.

it was only when my husband demanded more tests and began asking about hip replacement that an MRI showed a large mass on the right kidney with 2 mets on the spine.

no other symptoms at all.

he had one met treated surgically and the other with cyberknife; he had a radical nephrectomy and follow-up scans.

So far, he's been clear but is scheduled for scans on the 15th and the anxiety begins.

Sarah

Andy,

Which of these symptoms cropped up BEFORE your diagnosis?  The human brain can be an amazingly complex thing; I had NO symptoms before the tumor was found incidentally but after I could swear that every little ache and pain and tiredness was due to the cancer.  Generally, ONLY FROM WHAT I'VE READ, I would say it is NOT that common to have so many symptoms for such a small (relative) tumor.  Less than 7 cm and confined to the kidney is usually considered stage 1.  

But the thing with cancer is that everybody is different.  The only thing that you can do right now is deal with what's in front of you.  Trying to "fill in the blanks" is only going to cause more stress and anguish and that's not good for anybody.  If you are having this many symptoms, does the doctor know this?  What is their take on it?  Maybe it's more common than I think, but I know that I read a LOT of articles and information and generally the common symptoms of blood in urine, flank pain and fatigue don't show up until the tumor has progressed more.  In fact, many of the articles said that these days, only 10% of those diagnosed with RCC are presenting with those symptoms because the cancer is being found incidentally in early stages more often.

Worrying yourself sick isn't helping.  I can guarantee that some of the symptoms you are dealing with are due to the stress.  Chill out a little bit and as I said deal with each step one at a time.  You're going to beat whatever it is.

My tumor was roughly 3 cm and I didn't have any symptoms.  In fact, I didn't really believe it until the tumor was out and got the pathology report.  I have to agree though, that everyone is different.  

tyjsbtn said:

I had a lack of symptoms

Andy E - I had an 11 cm mass and kidney removed in August.  My only symptoms were a low grade fever daily for 4 months, fatigue and weight loss (I was too tired to cook).  My dr told me that it was because of an antidepressant that I stopped taking.  After the 4 months of fever I finally changed doctor's and they were looking at my gall bladder (I do have a large gall stone and have for several years) when they discovered the mass on my kidney using the ultra sound.

I had practically no symptons and never dreamed it was cancer until I saw the cat scan.  I kept my worrying to minimum and did not dwell on every little thing that I felt because I was not sure if it was just my stress or an actual symptom.  I felt that if I did not feel it before then I should not feel it now. But that is just me

I agree with everyone else it that it is different for everyone and that you need to be your own best advocate. 

I hope that all turns out well for you.  You are in my thoughts.

I had flank discomfort, sense of fullness and could feel a lump protruding out of my tummy. I thought many things along the way....gluten sensitivity...gall bladder....pulled muscle. Hindsight is 20/20. My tumor was a 13 cm sucker. Also, looking back, my blood pressure skyrocketed about 3 years ago. The doctor had trouble finding a good medication for it, but finally did. I wonder many times why he didn't investigate kidney function at all, as blood pressure is also controlled by kidney. I am sure that is what caused my blood pressure issues. I still am on blood pressure meds, but have cut it down by half!!

Now, I have been having a lot of discomfort on my left side - but under my ribs. Going for a bunch of tests to check it out.

We do need to advocate for our health!!

Hoping it all goes well for you!

Hugs

Jojo

Srashedb said:

Symptons

Jojo, further investigation seems to elude general practitioners; and, it infuriates me.

i reviewed my husband's bloodwork after his dx and asked the "doctor " why he had never mentioned CREATINE levels and he said "I don't know what that is". There was also low level anemia mentioned and his answer to that was that he did not read the results but had someone else read them to him.

my husband now has a great general practioner who is part of his medical team; she is a gem.

there are many "if onlys" but it is not productive to go there (for me). I let this idiot know what we thought of him, wrote a strong review under Yelp (he reads that) and filed a report with Medicare about his performing needless yet expensive tests and then let it go. (Mostly)

Sarah

Sarah, I can understand your frustration with your "doctor". Mine since retired, and the new guy is very proactive. He was a bit naive at first....had a very difficult time telling me I had cancer (I ended up consoling him - I found out later that I was the first person he ever had to tell since he started his practice)....consequently referred me to a nephrologist instead of a urologist, but other than that he seems to be doing all the right things and continues to be vigilant and proactive.

I know it is healthiest to let the frustrations go - and glad you have too. We don't need to waste our energy on that!!

Hugs

Jojo

dhs1963 said:

More than likely, your pain has nothing to do with the tumor

At fourty, our bodies start to hurt.  Flank pain can be caused by a lot of things.  A small tumor is not likely the cause.  It could be, depending on a lot of details, but unlikely

I had some general discomfort in my back...but I still do. The think that was more telling for me was unexplained weight loss; I lost 20 lbs over 6 months.  And I had fatigue in the afternoons.  

Before my Met was removed, I had a dull pain (ache) in my upper left lobe...I mentioned it many times...but it was not until the six month scans that it was identified.  That clearly went away when the met was removed.

 

My suggestion fo you right now is do something fun.  Take a vacation.  You will not feel like doing anything like that for several months after surgery.

Prior to the discovery of my tumor the symptoms I had was a sudden dcrease in weight although i explained it by my staying with a friend and her 3 small grandkids. In July I started having pains up under my right rib cage in the front... went to the hospital and they said it was gallbladdrr attack with no tests run just physical exam. The "attacks" continued and lasted the typical 3 to 5 days except every attack was worse then previous... by the beginning of Oct the attack was not responding to pain meds or any nausea meds they yad me on...I went to the hospital and insisted they remve the gallbladder. All blood tests showed fall bladder was ok cept elevated white cell count and microscopic blood i  urine althought they never mentioned it.. I insistd  the dr do something about pain so he ordered a ct scan with iv contrast. It took about 3 hrs to get the results back in thee er but that is when they told .e abiut the tumor... it was 3.6 cm at discovery and 4 cm a month