Help! Newly Diagnosed

Hmmm I’d like others with more knowledge to weigh in on this, but that seems a small mass to be talking removal of entire kidney. Do you have the option of a second opinion, perhaps an oncologist? Was the CT scan because of symptoms you were having? That “ticking bomb” uncertainty feeling is no fun. I hope you are able to determine more while waiting. Take care ~

Oh I’m sorry to hear that. Try to keep calm during all this.

MHutch,

I had a 2 cm malignant tumor removed from my left kidney via cryoablation this past June. Because of where it was located, a partial nephrectomy wasn't an option. It appears to be gone as of now!! Maybe see if this could be an option for you?

Thanks,

Theresa

Sorry to be late to this post.

In late 2013, I was referred for a CT scan by my primary because of microscopic blood in my urine. The CT showed a small (1.5cm) lesion on my right kidney. I got a referral to a urologic oncologist at Stanford. He recommended active surveillance primarily because findings this small are sometimes not malignant and he did not want to possibly have reduced kidney function only to find the lesion was benign. I asked about possible spread and growth and he said growths of my type were typically slow growing and rarely spread to other locations. However, he also said if I would be bothered by the notion of possibly having a malignancy, he could arrange to have it taken out, as he was not a surgeon. I chose to take his recommendation. It was not until April, 2016 that an ultrasound showed growth, so he arranged for robotic surgery, which was performed in June, 2016. The lesion was finally measured at 1.7 cm, chromophobe type (which is notoriously slow growing and almost never spreads).

Whether to get it taken out preemptively or go on active surveillance is a personal choice that depends on your mindset. There’s no right answer and it’s most certainly not any indication of weakness to choose to get it out fast. To be honest, I rather shocked myself by going through active surveillance.

As another member posted, ablation, either through radio frequency (heat) or cryo (cold) is also an option. At the time of my procedure, I was told ablation was 95% successful in getting everything while surgery was essentially completely curative (99.9%+) for small growths. Given over 7 years, the ablation percentages may have improved.