Update

Sounds like a good plan; getting the patholigy done before continuing the ablation. And maybe, just maybe, it will turn out to be benign. Keeping fingers crossed for you!

Hi. I'm a little confused between these two posts. As I understand it, they will do the ablation without knowing what it is. You will find out later what it was?

Most of us don't have biopsies on kidney tumors. As I understood it, the reason is they have a very hard time hitting the bad tissue when they biopsy. A negative biopsy is not very reliable. Tumors are rarely homogenous nor are they very solid. There's some stastical probability of them missing the cancerous tissue even with multiple biopsies. That's why they often remove our entire kidneys without knowing really what the mass is. For example, I was told my mass was about a 90% chance it was a tumor based on the imaging. They removed my entire kidney without doing a biopsy. That's generally the common way it's handled for most of us.

Why don't they do the biopsy, get the result, then schedule the ablation after you know what it is? Are they trying to use the same insertion to both biopsy and do the ablation?

Do you know from the imaging that this is likely cancer? I can't tell you details, but I recall they have some kind of classification system of these masses and from that they can get some kind of indication if this is likely an RCC tumor versus something benign.

By the way, if this is an RCC tumor, will that change your staging? And if it changes your staging, will they refer you to an oncologist then?

If you're urologist thinks you have metastatic RCC, I don't understand why you aren't seeing an oncologist yet.

What does 97% success mean? That's really an odd thing to say. Meaning they fully destroyed the mass?

What type of ablation are they going to use on you? I think there are a few types. And how much healthy tissue will they damage?

Sorry for all the questions, but many of us here have had urologists that seem to want to hang on following patients sometimes after it's time for a consultation with a medical oncologist. It seems like this one is in a hurry to have you treat this now? You have a request in to see a medical oncologist you said. Why the rush to treat before your consutl with the medical oncologist?

Have you asked for a second opinion?

For me, I got three opinions, and the 2 second opinions did not agree with the first opinion I got. Doctors have told me good doctors will never mind second/third opinions or consultations with other specialists.

Best to you,

Todd

How in the world can they tell it's another primary tumor versus a met? The odds of that have to be incredibly low.

I understand that ablation is probably what you're going to have to do to save as much kidney function as possible if you're going to remove it.

I'm glad you don't mind my questions. Also glad you're getting the opinion of a medical oncologist that has experience with RCC.

I hope you're going to get close followups. I'd want them.

I was Stage 3, Grade 3 and I had a met to my adrenal gland 2 years after my kidney was removed. After that my RCC oncologist has insisted on chest/abdomen/pelvic CT scans every 3 months.

Best of luck. I sure hope this cures you of RCC.

Todd

My journey is still in progress (partial neph of right kidney on April 3rd) but i wish you the best and a speedy recovery.