Encouragement

I stumbled upon this site a few weeks ago when doing research after the incidental discovery of a small renal mass during treatment for another condition.  I received encouragement by reading your stories and thought perhaps that I should share my own story in the event that someone else might need similar encouragement.

I am in my late 50s, male, 170 pounds, and just over six feet tall.  I was very surprised at the incidental discovery of the small renal mass because I had no symptoms and had an active lifestyle for my age.

At first I opted for an open partial nephrectomy because robotic procedures are not offered by our local hospital.  However, after researching further, I changed course and was referred to a surgeon at a teaching hospital in a nearby city for a robotic-assisted laparoscopic partial nephrectomy.

I had the surgery last week.  The physicians and staff at the teaching hospital were very professional and efficient.  My surgery lasted about five hours.  I woke with four keyhole incisions of <1" in my abdomen plus another incision for a drain.  I was given one dose of hydrocodone after awakening from surgery but have been on extra strength Tylenol plus a muscle relaxing medication since that time (Flexeril).  The surgery was not nearly as bad as I had feared.  I spent one night in the hospital and was discharged the next day, after having a urinary catheter and the abdominal JP drain removed.

I would estimate the pain at about a 2 on a 10 point scale, except in moments when I cough or sneeze, when it shoots to about a 9 before quickly subsiding.  There is some discomfort when moving from a prone to seated position or when moving from a seated to a standing position, but it's manageable.  It was about 48 hours before my bowels moved again and I found that fasting but drinking hot coffee was very helpful to re-start the digestive process.  (I had another surgery for an unrelated condition several years ago and began eating too soon and later regretted it - I learned the hard way that I needed to get the bowels functioning again before consuming food.)  I began walking the day of the surgery around the hospital, then at home, then in my neighborhood.  I have steadily increased to 1.50 miles/day in the sixth day after surgery.  I have resumed part-time work from home.

The pathology report indicates that the small mass was completely excised and my surgeon said that it is "very unlikely" that I will have a reoccurrence.  That said, my surgeon intends to follow me for about five years and have periodic CT scans, with the first post-surgery CT scan to occur in about three months.

Here are the highlights of the pathology report:

Histologic Type: Papillary renal cell carcinoma, Type 1

Histologic Grade: G2

Tumor Size: Greatest Dimension (Centimeters): 2.7 cm

Margins: Uninvolved by invasive carcinoma

Primary Tumor (pT): pT1a

If your own situation is similar to mine then my advice would be to not lose heart, to at least consult with a physician who offers robotic-assisted surgery to see if it is an option for you (even if you ultimately decide to go about things differently), and keep a positive attitude which is its own good medicine.

And whatever your own situation, I hope that you will do well in your treatment and have a good outcome.