Clear Cell Kidney

CLEAR CELL KIDNEY
hi lori,
i have never heard of kidney cancer spreading to or from the ovaries.
i had my left kidney removed in dec. 08, 4cm mass chromophobe type stage 1b found on a routine ultrasound for my ovaries (which were ok, ironic.)
i also had breast cancer 4 years ago stage 1.
my drs. oncologist and surgeon told me that these were two separate cancers and had nothing to do with each other. just bad luck i guess.
do you mind if i ask what your follow up plan is for tests and scans. are you undergoing any treatment? with rcc there usually isn't any chemo. i will have a ct scan and blood work done at six months after surgery.
your cysts may be benign so don't worry just yet. if God forbid they're not at least you're on top of it seeing an gyno oncologist right from the start.
good luck and good health.

melmig said:

Lori,
I also have cysts on
Lori,

I also have cysts on my ovaries..left RCC partial nephrectomy on 4/1/09 of 2 cm. My urologist consulted with a gyn onc and they determined the cysts were simple and no need to remove. I am concerned too. I just had an MRI on the ovaries to ensure they are not cancerous, but won't get the results until 6/23. Now, my gyn is suggesting surgery for the cysts, but I also read of a higher incidence of RCC in women with ovary removal. At this point, can we have a higher incidence? We've both already had RCC! I'm confused and concerned just like you.

Melissa

Cysts and Kidneys
Hi Lori- Bummer! But you caught it very early thanks to an unexpected event.

Once upon a time, when I had ovaries, I also had cysts. They would grow and rupture - very painfully, I might add. I almost had a wreck when one ruptured and I didn't know what was happening. I started pushing my OB/GYN for a diagnosis and solution. Actually, with an exploratory laparoscopy and D&C, they found extensive endometriosis, uterine fibroids, cervical polyps, and just plain ovarian cysts in various stages. After reviewing all my options-drugs, male hormones, etc., I elected total abdominal hysterectomy/oophorectomy and he thru in the appendectomy for free since he was already on the inside. I don't regret that surgery decision in 1987, since I was 44 at the time.
A good friend whose husband is a Dr. had similar surgery the year prior, but for grapefruit sized fibroids. A couple of years earlier, the Dr's sister had elected the simple hysterectomy but left the ovaries. Because a pap smear doesn't do much then, and her symptoms weren't definitive, they missed the ovarian cancer until it was too late to do anything

"Fast" forward to 2006 and thinking I had gall stones, I said something to my new internist. An ultrasound found masses in R. kidney and the liver, so it was already Stage 4. A CT, bone scan, and referals put me in Portland, OR. Going into surgery, it was already listed as T2 M2 N1. The kidney tumor was 12.5 cm x 11.5 x 8, but had not gone thru the capsule or vein, although it had mets to the left half of liver and a set of lymph nodes. All gone, now. The gall bladder had a congenital defect so out it came.

I have regular CT's and they caught a single node in 2007 growing in the fossa where the kidney had been. It was positive on biopsy. And was attached to the duodenum and the inferior vena cava. At least the Urologic Surgeon was great looking-too bad he was married and only a 28 year old resident. The Attending was there to supervise and had done my kidney the year before.
More CT's and in 2008, another single node, confirmed with a PET scan, had sprouted where the aorta branches to go down each leg. Cut and sew time in late June.

More CT's this past year. They noticed something in January this year so had another scan and an ultrasound in March and a CT in May. I do have an hemangioma in the liver (looks like a big birthmark-highly vascular), and what they think is a cyst. Soooo-for the first summer in four years, I'm planning something besides surgery and recovery time for the rest of the season.

About kidney cancer mets to ovaries...I haven't heard of any.
Here's what I try to do. Play with my grandkids; keep my BP under control-with one kidney, not as easy; control my weight; stay informed; surround myself with friends who are supportive; laugh with my husband -and sometimes at him, too; garden; play with the cat; go to work; take time off when I need to; and try not to stress out since it doesn't produce anything good.

My best to all-Donna