New to kidney cancer biopsy Tuesday

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Callista17
Callista17 Member Posts: 2
edited December 2015 in Kidney Cancer #1

Hi, someone just told me about this board,  and suggested I stop by. 

13 years ago my Dad was diagnosed with colon cancer, had a colon resection, then  colonoscopies every year for 10, then doctor said he could wait 3 years. 3 years later, colon cancer was back, so he had another colon resection this summer.

My Dad had a LOT OF complications. After the surgery,  we thought  he was ok, but a few weeks out, he slowed down immensely. Primary care doctor was out of town, substitute  did bloodwork, said no issues, surgeon referred to primary care, said no issue with surgery site, urgent care said internal  stitches came out, and surgery was undone,  and sent to hospital,  which found blood clots.  Both legs, both lungs. Another week in the hospital. Two weeks out, he called me at work- his face was crooked. Yep, mild stroke, he seemed to recover from. 

With the tests, they also knew he had kidney cancer, multiple tumors in each kidney, but at least one tumor in one kidney is cancer. They wanted to deal with that after colon cancer. Now it's  that time. His five dcotors- primary care, urologist, nephrologist, pulmonologist, etc said he would not survive any surgery- cryo, mechanical robot, doctor surgery etc. They said maybe shockwave, but not offered locally, but they are pushing radiation.

The radiation doctor is refusing  to do it without a biopsy to know what type of cancer. My Dad is meeting a new doctor Tuesday  to do the biopsy that day. We've  asked the radiation doctor what the biopsy entails, but he refuses to say. 

How is a kidney biopsy done? My Mom read online this AM, it's  basically loopy like a colonoscopy, but you have to lay on your back afterwards  for 6-8 hours to monitor  blood and urine to make sure no internal bleeding.  Is this true?  

Thanks for any assistance!

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  • Allochka
    Allochka Member Posts: 1,062 Member
    #2
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    I'm sorry to hear about your

    I'm sorry to hear about your dad's struggles. Unfortunately I don't know much about kidney biopsy, but other member's (Cakelady's) husband just had one. Maybe you can send her a personal message and ask for details.

    My partner had liver biopsy some time ago due to hep C, it was piece of cake. He had to lie on one side for 4 hours afterwards.

    And usually biopsy is not done for kidney tumors. Can you ask for a second opinion on this?

    Good luck to your dad! Keep us posted!

  • cakelady
    cakelady Member Posts: 63
    #3
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    Hi, Callista!

    Sorry we have to meet like this... we need to stop!

    John just had a biopsy last week.  It's considered outpatient, so they will likely have him come in the day before or a few days before and do bloodwork, etc.  The biopsy itself was relatively uncomplicated and quick.  They use (at least here) a sheathed collector that looks kind of like an olive grabber.  The sheathed portion does not go into the diseased tissue, but as close to it as possible, then the collector extends from the end, collects however many samples are requested, stores them in the sheathed portion, then the collector is removed.  It's just like a big, fat needle.  They gave him a local stuck him, collected for about a half-hour using ultrasound assistance, stuck a band-aid on the hole, and sent him to recovery.  Recovery was four hours of bed rest to monitor him for bleeding or any other problems.  He complained about soreness at the site for about 36 hours, but that may have been so long because he drove around the next day.  He was told to take OTC pain meds if he needed them.

    All in all, it was non-eventful, just long and boring.  Bring a book or something...

    Much luck to you; our diagnosis is new, too, only about six weeks, so we're still learning about all this!  Happy to be someone to fuss to, ask questions of, or just give virtual hugs.

  • Callista17
    Callista17 Member Posts: 2
    #4
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    cakelady said:

    Hi, Callista!

    Sorry we have to meet like this... we need to stop!

    John just had a biopsy last week.  It's considered outpatient, so they will likely have him come in the day before or a few days before and do bloodwork, etc.  The biopsy itself was relatively uncomplicated and quick.  They use (at least here) a sheathed collector that looks kind of like an olive grabber.  The sheathed portion does not go into the diseased tissue, but as close to it as possible, then the collector extends from the end, collects however many samples are requested, stores them in the sheathed portion, then the collector is removed.  It's just like a big, fat needle.  They gave him a local stuck him, collected for about a half-hour using ultrasound assistance, stuck a band-aid on the hole, and sent him to recovery.  Recovery was four hours of bed rest to monitor him for bleeding or any other problems.  He complained about soreness at the site for about 36 hours, but that may have been so long because he drove around the next day.  He was told to take OTC pain meds if he needed them.

    All in all, it was non-eventful, just long and boring.  Bring a book or something...

    Much luck to you; our diagnosis is new, too, only about six weeks, so we're still learning about all this!  Happy to be someone to fuss to, ask questions of, or just give virtual hugs.

    Thank you very much!!!

    Thank you very much!!! Unfortunately,  with so many doctors involved, we don't know much! (Sounds opposite of what it should be) My Dad is going Tuesday and the biopsy should happen Tuesday,  results of what type of cancer on the 21st. 

    Honestly,  we had no idea! My Mom did a little Internet research and found out about the internal  bleeding  and bed rest thing. She also read no heavy lifting for a few weeks. My Dad helps me with the horses  I own horses, and last Christmas,  my present was horse grain. Sounds strange, but today he ran out and bought some because they are 50 pound bags,  and we didn't know!!! We are putting  up my Christmas tree this Sunday, and he is changing his tractor attachments and parking it for the winter. All things we didn't  know  had to be done. 

    Options they mentioned were surgery (1st choice), radiation, shock  wave. They also were interested  in cryosurgery....I think radiation  will be the route.

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