2.9 cm lesion Bosniak 3

I had a lesion about half your size (1.6 cm at the time of discovery in late 2013). The urologic oncologist I was referred to recommended active surveillance with six month scans. It was not until April, 2016 that an ultrasound showed it had grown to 1.7cm, so the decision was made to remove it then. A total of 1.8cm was removed to provide for clear margins. The surgery was two months later in June, 2016.

Mine was found incidentally as well. During a routine annual physical, microscopic blood was found in my urine. My doctor referred me for a CT scan on the assumption I had kidney stones. No stones, but the lesion was found. Curious thing is, I never had blood found in my urine again, despite still going for an annual physical for the 2-1/2 years between the initial finding and the surgery. When I asked the urologic oncologist about it, he shrugged and said that blood in the urine can come from a lot of situations and that it doesn’t always come with kidney cancer.

In terms of surgery, I had a robotic partial. My kidney function suffered a little bit in the short term, but after about six months, my creatinine levels and eGFR are better than before the surgery. Now, making the surgery easier? I’ve had three surgeries, two for unrelated abdominal issues as well as the cancer surgery. I won’t lie. No surgery is easy. But the recovery from the robotic partial was, for me, less traumatic than the recovery from the abdominal surgeries. That’s because in an abdominal surgery, longer incisions are made in some pretty important muscles and when those muscles start to mend back together, it’s incredibly painful when you move wrong or, Gods forbid, you sneeze. The robotic kidney surgery uses much smaller incisions, so there’s less of a chance to affect large, important muscle groups.

To better prepare, get a decent amount of exercise. Walking both before and after will help speed your recovery.