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joedad
joedad Member Posts: 8
in Kidney Cancer #1

I had relatively minor muscle pains in my bladder area for a few months so my doctor ordered an ultrasound for the bladder and kidneys.  which discovered "Renal sonography demonstrates a 4.1 x 3.7 x 3.4 cm in diameter solid-appearing slightly hypoechoic mass at the medial aspect of the upper pole of the left kidney. This mass demonstrates little internal vascular flow. This mass may be benign or malignant." I received a follow up MRI which indicated the mass was suspcious (my family doctor's word). I will see a urologist next Monday. 

I was a little bit in shock when the doctor called so I didn't ask many questions. She suggested I get in to see the urologist ASAP and suggested a specialist at a cancer center in yhe city. I could sense the urgency in her voice, but I may have been reading into it too much. 

From what I read, 4cm isn't large but size doesn't matter if it has spread. I wish I asked my doctor if the MRI shows if it has spread, so I can brace myself. 

Can anybody suggest questions I should ask the urologist?

Comments

  • icemantoo
    icemantoo Member Posts: 3,361 Member
    #2
    Welcome

    Joedad,

     

    The Urologist will probably order a CT scan for better definition. At 4cm it will most likely need surgery. but it is still unlikely to have spread at that size. Let us know after your appt so we can help you thru this. Mine was 15 years ago

     

    Icemantoo

  • hardo718
    hardo718 Member Posts: 853 Member
    #3
    Welcome Joedad

    Kind of makes your head spin out of control when you get news like that, and sort of like going deaf after you lock in on the word cancer.  Make sure they order your CT with & without contrast.....I had to have it redone cause my first was only ordered without.

    As far as questions:  I would ask if it's possible to have the robotic surgery (there are many factors that can prevent this from being done, such as location of the beast, etc)  Is the doctor proficient at this procedure if that's what they will do, by the frequency of performing this procedure.  And is this doctor a urologic oncologist.  Also, if possible, take someone with you.  Like I mentioned earlier, sometimes that "deafness" will set in when you're getting a lot of information and having another set of ears can help later when you can't remember what was said.  I asked my doctor to describe the surgery and he actually drew it out for me on the paper draw sheet of the exam table.  Since I wss alone at the time (cause I went directly from work), I asked if I could take his artwork?  He said why of course, so I asked him to autograph it!  haha

    Best wishes, keep us posted.

    Donna~

  • kiwi68
    kiwi68 Member Posts: 110
    #4
    Time lines

    When you see the urologist they will likely take you through a kind of  flow chart - which you will find other places, size of tumour, location, pathology along with  your current health and then the choices of reomoving the tumour.  If you are 80 with lots of health problems a small tumour it might not be an operation straight away,  If you are healthy and the tumour is in a good spot - a partial nephrectomy laprascopically.    How the nephrectomy is done will depend on the surgeon, what he is expert at and what equipment he has available to him.    Most people opt for a partial laprascopic over a full radical if it is possible, to reduce recovery time and keep as much kidney function as possible, but those are things the surgeon shoud talk about with you.   My surgeon offered me a ful nephrectomy if I was super concerned about remaining kidney with cancer, I wasn't because I will have ongoing scans available and my tumour was new and small. 

    Ditto on making sure the scan you get has contrast and no constrast so that the walls of the mass are defined / or not.

    Ask your urologist what he thinks the timeline will be - he will usualy know approximately how long from referral to when the hosptial would schedule an operation and may even be able to give you a choice of where he operates and how long a wait for each place.   Specialist equipment is required for robotic or hand assistedl nephrectomy laprascopically so only some hospitals or theatres are equipped. 

    Knowing the timeline will let you get your head around work/family comittments - if they are closing down over Christmas period - and if it is going to be quick you might need to get on the fast path with your insurance approvals if needed .  Mine were done in 5 working days - but that was ony 1 day more between seeing the urologist and receiving the letter for the insurance company and getting the operation. 

    Wishing you well. 

  • joedad
    joedad Member Posts: 8
    #5
    Thank you for your comments.

    Thank you for your comments. I feel a little bit better now. I'm sure you will be hearing from me more in the coming months, and hopefully years/decadesLaughing

     

    Joe

  • Angie1496
    Angie1496 Member Posts: 154
    #6
    Hi Joe!  Yours is slightly

    Hi Joe!  Yours is slightly smaller than mine was.  The good news is at that size the chance of spreading is unlikely. RCC isn't like other cancers and isn't treated the same way.  Your urologist can and should get you the proper CT's of your kidneys and other parts of the body to check for spreading and better identify the mass.  Good luck to you!

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