newbie

shaval123 said:

Be encouraged...

This board is great. We have all been where you are and this is a wonderful place for info, fellowship and encouragement.

Happy

St. Patrick day to you also.

Sharon

 

 

butterfly wings,

I see you have found a good place to land on this side of the pond.

At 3 weeks out it only gets better and at 4.5 cm barring any set back you should be around for many years to come.

Icemantoo

butterfly wings said:

Thanks Sharon

Thanks Sharon.

There is no support page like this in Ireland so I hope you don't mind me joining.  I used to travel to the US on business a lot and my company is hoping to open an office in Cali this year.

Hello butterfly ,i have almost the same size tumour in the midlle of kidney,no invasion into renal pelvis or vena cava.I am not sure what  the chance for returning is  ,but here in Bulgaria the scanners are every 3 month first year and every 6 month second one  , since I have the surgery.I have had two since  the surgery ,bone scan and CT scan and now I"ll have CT scan again  appointed on  tuesday .

Hello and welcome. I am glad to hear of your early diagnosis. That is wonderful for you and your family. Being told you have "beaten it" is great but your life will probably be forever changed an it is OK to feel sad, overhwelmed, even though you have "beaten it." No one here will judge you here for that, cancer is cancer, your journey is your journey. This is a supportive place. 

I post here on behalf of my husband. He did not get such an early diagnosis but was has so for been lucky to have moved on with his life with only one kidney and gets scanned every 6 months. 

Please drink lots and lots of water, that cannot be stressed enough. My husband reallly "starts to feel it' if he doesn't drink enough. 

butterfly wings said:

thanks

Thanks for the comments sblairc.

 

I've not felt sad or overwhelmed.  It's all a bit surreal to be honest.

I had cancer I didn't know I had it and by the time I found out for sure it was cancer it was gone.  I'll have my scans but won't even pass the time of day thinking of them....If it comes back I'll fight that battle.

I would have been quite a worrier but before my cancer diagnosis I had decided not to stress over the worries I cannot control and it really helped me.  I'm very much a pragmatic person and I don't dwell on what ifs.

 

Maybe one day I'll break down and cry and be angry but not today...today I need to be strong for my kids......

 

I drink copious amounts of water.  My 9 year old has started doing juices for me too with her nutri ninja.  She got watermelon yesterday to give me tomorrow (it's mothers day here tomorrow)

 

I hope your husband is well.  I can't imagine my husband posting here.  He's very much of the opinion "if I ignore it it will go away".  He is super supportive but doesn't talk about it.

BW,

I also had ccrcc stage 1 grade 2; tumor was 2.8 cm found incidentally. Currently recovering from emergency gallbladder surgery. 2 surgeries in less than 6 months makes Jason a dull boy...

But there is a bit of surreality to the situation; the discovery and removal all happen so fast that sometimes you don't fully realize what happened until time passes. I had "made peace" with the good possibility that the tumor was malignant before removal, but they don't tell you for sure until after removal and at that point all they want to do is tell you how lucky you are.

It's probably going to be up to you to remain vigilant regarding your future care; I've found here in the States the cancer system is diverted towards the Stage 3 and 4ers. For obvious reasons. They need the care the most. But that doesn't mean you want to get lost in the shuffle. Make sure you are comfortable with the way your medical professionals are handling future scans, etc.

I'm due for my first follow-up appointment this Monday; it's going to be a big indicator of whether I will be happy with my level of care. I'll be posting afterwards to let everyone know how it went.

butterfly wings said:

thanks

Thanks for the comments sblairc.

 

I've not felt sad or overwhelmed.  It's all a bit surreal to be honest.

I had cancer I didn't know I had it and by the time I found out for sure it was cancer it was gone.  I'll have my scans but won't even pass the time of day thinking of them....If it comes back I'll fight that battle.

I would have been quite a worrier but before my cancer diagnosis I had decided not to stress over the worries I cannot control and it really helped me.  I'm very much a pragmatic person and I don't dwell on what ifs.

 

Maybe one day I'll break down and cry and be angry but not today...today I need to be strong for my kids......

 

I drink copious amounts of water.  My 9 year old has started doing juices for me too with her nutri ninja.  She got watermelon yesterday to give me tomorrow (it's mothers day here tomorrow)

 

I hope your husband is well.  I can't imagine my husband posting here.  He's very much of the opinion "if I ignore it it will go away".  He is super supportive but doesn't talk about it.

I love your attitude about this situation. I feel the same. I was so calm and positive from the start that my family couldn't believe the calm conversation considering we were talking about removing my kidney and a 5 inch mass. As I do with most things in my life, I put it all in prayer and left it in God's very capable hands. It is well with me and I don't really feel like I had cancer though I did.

I love life too much to sit and dwell on what "might" happen in the future. I trust my doctors fully and live each day with joy. Sounds like you do too. Carry on my friend. Everything is going to be alright.

butterfly wings said:

How long off work

My team never told me how long I should stay off work??

For just the gallbladder my primary doctor said 4 weeks is the norm.  Nobody mentioned how long for kidney & gallbladder  One of my consultants team mentioned 4 weeks leave.  I nearly feel I could go back but I don't want to overdo it.  I have a nanny who comes to mind my kids so I've really been able to recover well.  

I've just started lifting my smallest son.  Just for a cuddle or out of the bath.

I've no pain around the incision but my hip bone is totally numb (but sore).

I don't take pain med's and haven't since about 10 data post op.

Each person has their own unique experience as to when they have recovered enough to go back to work. The most consistant observation I have made over the years is the age of the member.These 30 and 40 year olds have it much easier than I did when I had my neph just after turning 59. As the members get in their 60's and early 70's recovery is a much slower process.

Icemantoo

Allochka said:

Hello,
Congratulations on

Hello,

Congratulations on early diagnosis and great prognosis! You'll be just fine!

i'm from Europe as well (Latvia), my fiance had surgery in DEC 2014 for Stage 1a grade 1 tumor. He received pathology soon after surgery, but his first follow-up is in 3 months, coming next week. He has to get blood work only, but will get an ultrasound scan on his own initiative. So only after the meeting with doc he will know exact plans for long-term follow-up. 

But no matter what doc will say, and no matter that recurrence chances for all you 1-stagers are really-really minimal, this board taught us as at lest 6 months scanning for couple of years would be prudent to do.

as for retrun to work - my fiance started working fulltime 1 month post surgery, and felt he could've started earlier. He had an open partial.

take your time, get full strength back, it is a major surgery after all!

 

I am sorry for the reason you found us, but welcome! You will find this a wonderful, informative and supportive group.

You have a great attitude about all of this and I have a feeling, you will be just fine! Please try not to overdo it....you have had some major stuff done. It takes a while to heal inside. (easier said than done when you have little ones, I know

Follow up care is important, so please stay vigilant with that.

Hugs,

Jojo

butterfly wings said:

What else can we be but

What else can we be but positive.

I like to party and to travel.  I think I'll be doing a lot of both of them this year.

That they've got it so early. Youre right moaning and groaning will get us nowhere. You have to be positive. If you want inspiration on how its done look at Fox or Djinnies posts. Oh and I'm from London, so happy mothers day, may you have many more!