First Post-Op Follow Up

Tapman63
Tapman63 Member Posts: 137 Member
in Kidney Cancer #1

I had my first follow up procedure to my mid-February radical neph yesterday - a chest x-ray.  I was surprised at the scanxiety that I felt (I guess really 'x-ray-xiety), but the results came back really quickly and I was releived to see that all looks clear in the lungs.  One down, a few more years to go!

Comments

  • BoondockSaint
    BoondockSaint Member Posts: 242 Member
    #2
    Excellent news!!!! Keep

    Excellent news!!!! Keep stacking up the clear scans.

  • LMCRJB13
    LMCRJB13 Member Posts: 84
    #3
    Yes!  NED news never gets old

    Yes!  NED news never gets old.  Keep on keeping on!

    Ryan

  • Steph85
    Steph85 Member Posts: 166 Member
    #4
    Congrats to NED! I have my

    Congrats to NED! I have my first CT on monday and I'm feeling the anxiety. I know my chances of recurrence are pretty slim but you never know! Wish you the best of luck and many many many more years of NED!

     

    Stephanie

  • Hoss79
    Hoss79 Member Posts: 78 Member
    #5
    Awesome news!! A visit from
    Awesome news!! A visit from uncle NED never gets old.
  • Wehavenotimeatall
    Wehavenotimeatall Member Posts: 488 Member
    #6
    Great news Tapman

    Many many years to follow

  • hardo718
    hardo718 Member Posts: 853 Member
    #7
    Congratulations!

    Nothing better.  Carry on with the celebrations!

    Donna~

  • JerzyGrrl
    JerzyGrrl Member Posts: 760 Member
    #8
    Congrats!

     That's great news. Tell Uncle Ned we send our love and look forward to when he stops by next.  

  • Canadian Sandy
    Canadian Sandy Member Posts: 784 Member
    #9
    Congrats on your Ned status.

    Congrats on your Ned status. Great news!

  • JoeyZ
    JoeyZ Member Posts: 210 Member
    #10
    Awesome news!! We all love

    Awesome news!! We all love Uncle Ned's visits. I've only had one so far, and have one coming up in a couple weeks! 

    May I ask why an xray as opposed to a CT scan?

  • Manufred
    Manufred Member Posts: 241 Member
    #11
    Early days

    Early days, but lets hope things stay that way.  Chest X-Ray must have been looking for something lung-specific - did you ask?

    Best wishes.

  • Tapman63
    Tapman63 Member Posts: 137 Member
    #12
    JoeyZ said:

    Awesome news!! We all love

    Awesome news!! We all love Uncle Ned's visits. I've only had one so far, and have one coming up in a couple weeks! 

    May I ask why an xray as opposed to a CT scan?

    Actually...

    I kind of wondered the same thing, but that's what the urolgist ordered.  If I was going to take a guess.....it seems I may have a bit of kidney disease in the remaing kidney and they don't want to overuse the contrast.  Purely a guess, though.  I'm sure I'll be looking at a CT scan soon.

  • Tapman63
    Tapman63 Member Posts: 137 Member
    #13
    Manufred said:

    Early days

    Early days, but lets hope things stay that way.  Chest X-Ray must have been looking for something lung-specific - did you ask?

    Best wishes.

    My Understanding...

    ...is that the lungs are one of the first/biggest places that a kidney cancer can mestastisize....so I think I'll be looking at lung/organ scans and x-rays for a few years.

  • paintergrl
    paintergrl Member Posts: 47
    #14
    Scans

    I had a chest Xray before my radical nephrectomy (March 2018) and just had a CT scan (incuding chest). There are a few tiny nodules in my lungs that showed up on CT scan. The chest Xray does not show enough detail of the lungs so the xray cannot be used as a baseline. The nodules may have been there before but there is no way of knowing. They may be nothing. They may be cancer. I am trying to get into a drug trial so I need to have no mets for this trial. Or at least the drug company needs to be convinced of no mets. They will be more exclusive than inclusive. I have to have the CT Scan done again next week. I'm hoping it shows no growth to the nodules, of course. I'm trying not to freak out about it. 

    I just wanted you to know that the Xray will not show as much detail as a CT scan. In my case, my cancer is very agressive (grade 4) so that may be why they think they would see growth in 1 month if it is cancer. Best of luck!!

  • JoeyZ
    JoeyZ Member Posts: 210 Member
    #15
    Tapman63 said:

    Actually...

    I kind of wondered the same thing, but that's what the urolgist ordered.  If I was going to take a guess.....it seems I may have a bit of kidney disease in the remaing kidney and they don't want to overuse the contrast.  Purely a guess, though.  I'm sure I'll be looking at a CT scan soon.

    That's likely it, but you

    That's likely it, but you could do the CT without the contrast. I did, on my first one a month after surgery. Then I had some problems with severe dizziness and they did a brain scan WITH contrast, and it sure did mess with my good kidney function numbers. It does work its way back out but I can see now why they don't want to use contrast. It raised my Creatinine to pre-surgery level of 1.30, as last time it was checked it was the best ever at .90. The Bun is now 20, as it also was pre-surgery, and it had gotten down to 12. So I see why they don't want to use contrast!!

    Only downside I can figure in not using contrast, is that they cannot see the organs as well. Like the liver, for example. I find this worrisome for those of us who are not sure they got all the cancer out in the nephrectomy. 

    For lungs, I can see x-rays possibly being enough.

    I'm no expert, far from it. Just muddling through! 

    I expect your next scan might be a CT without contrast.

     

    Good luck!!

  • Tapman63
    Tapman63 Member Posts: 137 Member
    #16
    paintergrl said:

    Scans

    I had a chest Xray before my radical nephrectomy (March 2018) and just had a CT scan (incuding chest). There are a few tiny nodules in my lungs that showed up on CT scan. The chest Xray does not show enough detail of the lungs so the xray cannot be used as a baseline. The nodules may have been there before but there is no way of knowing. They may be nothing. They may be cancer. I am trying to get into a drug trial so I need to have no mets for this trial. Or at least the drug company needs to be convinced of no mets. They will be more exclusive than inclusive. I have to have the CT Scan done again next week. I'm hoping it shows no growth to the nodules, of course. I'm trying not to freak out about it. 

    I just wanted you to know that the Xray will not show as much detail as a CT scan. In my case, my cancer is very agressive (grade 4) so that may be why they think they would see growth in 1 month if it is cancer. Best of luck!!

    Thanks for the Info..

    ...and good luck to you.  I hope the nodules are a whole bunch of nothing.

    Jim

  • Cybball
    Cybball Member Posts: 111
    #17

    Really happy to hear some NED news!  Keep that going.  I'm set for my first follow up in August.  

  • Brock1969
    Brock1969 Member Posts: 80
    #18
    Tapman63 said:

    Thanks for the Info..

    ...and good luck to you.  I hope the nodules are a whole bunch of nothing.

    Jim

    Great news Tap...

    Now go to a tap and have a relaxing cold one...:)

  • ToyTrainman
    ToyTrainman Member Posts: 5
    #19
    IV Contrast

    I had a radical nephrectomy in Nov. 2016 and like a fool I assumed, I know spell assume, that the remaining kidney would be sufficient. When metastic RCC came back in Aug of last year I learned to late from my nephrologist that IV contrast causes immediate irreservable damage to your kidney(s). As a result of not knowing/being told of this earlier I received a few CT's w/contrast that now have me at stage 4 kidney disease. With the help of my nephrologist and my other specialists our goal is to keep my creatinine level below 2, should it get to far above that target I could end up in dialysis with kidney failure.

    For any newcomers remember the only silly question is the one not asked. I learned it to late.

    Update: Have another six month CTtomorrow. Yesterday I get a phone call from radiology that they want me to come in very early. They want to use an oral contrast since I can't do the IV contrast. Having done this before it is a lot of liquid to swallow in a relatively short time frame. It doesn't taste near as bad as the barium drinks but at the same time it doesn't taste as good as a thick milk shake either. The only really bad part is the time that you end up sitting around waiting for all the steps required to happen are very slow to take place.   

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