Radical Nephrectomy for 14 cm tumor (RCC) 1/5/2015

Blog entry Radical Nephrectomy for 14 cm tumor (RCC) 1/5/2015 has been updated.

Tue, 01/13/2015 - 8:11pm — Terri065

On 11/27/14 Thanksgiving Day and my husband's birthday, we went to the local ER. My husband had back pain and blood in his urine. We thought he had past a kidney stone. Come to find out it was a 14 cm tumor pushing up against his Vena Cava. I'm writing this because reading these posts have helped me get through this nightmare.

After spending the weekend in the local hospital, we went to a Medical Center in NJ and met with their Urologic surgeon. We really liked him and felt we were on the right track. After multiple scans and test we went back to the surgeons office to what we thought was schedule surgery. What we were told was the surgery was too dangerous and they were afraid my husband would bleed out on the table. The surgeon explained that he wanted to shrink the tumor first and then attempt surgery. Which did seem like a plan. The problem was that when we met the oncologist he gave us very little hope of shrinking this tumor. We left that office with a prescription for the medication, thinking there must be somebody who can help us. After much internet searching I found Dr Russo of Memorial Sloan-Kettering  in New York City. I called our surgeon in New Jersey and asked what he thought of Dr Russo. He said if I was to ask him for a referral Dr Russo is who he would send us too. This was Friday December 18th I believe. That Monday we were in Dr Russo's office. He set us up with an appointment for an MRI at Sloan and an appointment to see him on December 31st. So there we were in New York City on December 31st, praying for God to bless us with his guidance. Dr Russo spent an hour and a half with us that day explaining the surgery and how he could help us. He explained that while it was a very dangerous surgery, my husband was a good candidate, being 52 and in very good health.  There was something very comforting about talking to Dr Russo not just because he was going to do the surgery but he knows how to talk to people who are scared. He was confident and compassionate, everything you want your doctor to be. I remember thinking, your mother must be very proud of you! On January 5th 2015 Dr Russo with the help of Dr Peter Allen  removed my husband's right kidney along with his adrenal gland, part of his liver and the tumor, which was wrapped halfway around his Vena Cava. We thank God for doctors Russo and Allen.  My husband is home recovering, thank you Jesus!

The moral to our story is, get a second opinion, don't be afraid to travel into the city and never lose hope. God bless!