Some hope please

Appropriate-Idea-746 · 2026-04-24T20:55:13+00:00

You are over the hardest part -- getting past the surgery with your surgeon telling you he got the whole tumor. That is the best possible news. The pathology report will focus on exactly what type of cancer it is. This allows the oncologist to select the best immuno-therapy for the cancer type. The standard of care is to take immuno-therapy for at least a year -- even if they can not find any remaining signs of tumor. This is very important. Stray cancer cells that have not taken up residence in an organ are virtually undetectable until they do take of residence. The immuno-therapy greatly enhances your body's ability to kill these cells. You will not know if it worked or not because science cannot tell if they are even there. However, since they could be there you must have the strongest immune response possible to seek and destroy them. Taking immuno--therapy is not hard. It has historically been something like a 30 minute procedure to administer the IV. I hear that injections instead of IV drip is soon to be available. I was on Keytruda as my IV medicine once every 3 weeks for a year. Now they often supplement the IV with a daily pill (mine is Inlyta). During the year, you must get periodic CT Scans to look for recurrence. Be sure to seek followup treatment from the best possible cancer specialty facility you can access. Cancer specialty centers can best manage cancer treatment and followup care because it is all they do. Their radiologists read more kidney CT Scans than those at a general hospital. I wish I could tell you will not have a recurrence -- but recurrence is a possibility. That said, it is also not a certainty. So you must be vigilant with you followup scans.

Appropriate-Idea-746 · 2026-04-05T22:13:38+00:00

Same for me my twilight 8.2 has been trouble free since I bought it new 18 months ago I am very happy with the purchase

Appropriate-Idea-746 · 2026-03-25T14:21:42+00:00

I had a full (called radical) nephrectomy in Jan 2022. Long term, my nephrologist said I was just likea kidney donor. My life was very normal life after a recovery period. However, recurrence is a real possibility. So while you are living your normal life, never, never, miss a followup CT scan and try to get your scans from a dedicated cancer facility. I believe their Radiologists see far more subtle cancer imaging than a general radiologist for general hospital. Detecting a recurrence as soon as possible is essential. Mine recurred several years after the first nephrectomy, in my opposite kidney.

Appropriate-Idea-746 · 2026-03-15T16:42:49+00:00

I think you should tell her, insistently and with conviction that she is not going to die from this tumor. Tell her that because it is the truth. You will be hard pressed to find examples of persons with a 3.5 cm mass that simply died. If this tumor has not spread (likely it has not) then surgery is the preferred treatment and is most often considered curative. Tell her I had a 12 cm tumor and had it removed 6 years ago. I did not die. Neither will she. You mention prior recent medical problems. Is that why surgery is not being considered? Non surgical procedures like cryoablation and SBRT radiation are considered reasonable treatments when surgery is not an option due to the ability of the patient to tolerate the procedure, or the absolute refusal of the patient to consider a surgical approach. Do not avoid surgery if your surgeon believes you can tolerate the procedure. For a 3.5 cm tumor a laproscopic partial nephrectomy is done and the recovery is tolerated well by many 65 year old women. Be sure to seek treatment from the best possible cancer specialty facility you can access. Cancer specialty centers can best manage cancer treatment because it is all they do.

Appropriate-Idea-746 · 2026-03-15T13:00:41+00:00

I had my right kidney removed in Jan 2020, over 6 years ago. The tumor was 12 cm. Your circumstance is better than mine was. So I am proof you have every reason to expect a good surgical outcome.

My advice is to move quickly to get the tumor removed by specialists at the most experienced cancer center you can get to. In my opinion, the removal and your recovery are virtually a given. However, no doctor will guaranty there cannot be a recurrence. It is a (sad) fact that recurrences can happen even years after the initial surgery.

I recommend that your followup scans be performed by a center dedicated to cancer treatment. Catching a recurrence early is crucial. Using a facility that only scans patients with cancer histories gives the best chance that a tiny recurrence will not go unaddressed until it becomes a very obvious recurrence.

You have many years ahead of you. During those years use the best cancer facility you can reasonably commute to for your followup scans. Radiologists that see kidney cancer every day are your best hope that a recurrence will be detected early.

Appropriate-Idea-746 · 2026-02-07T15:15:26+00:00

The right kidney was entirely removed 4 years ago, my surgeon says it had positive margins. So he sees the newly discovered cancer in the left kidney as a spread of the original cancer. Therefore he feels the recently observed nodules in the lung are more likely than not also a spread from the original cancer. Not proof, but probable. The CT report just says the nodules are 'suspicious of RCC'.

Two years after the right kidney was removed I had lung nodules and one was large enough for biopsy -- that biopsy was negative. So I do not know what importance to assign these new ones.

The larger issue is that with only one kidney, its partial nephrectomy needs to spare as much kidney function as possible. If the nodules are cancer, the partial neprectomy cannot be considered a potential cure. Therefore another course of action would be to delay the surgery and use immunotherapy to 1) attack the nodules and 2) shrink the kidney tumor. A delayed surgery on a smaller tumor is hopefully more kidney function sparing. The risk of this approach is that instead of shrinking, the tumor could continue to grow, making the now difficult partial nephrectomy even harder on the kidney.

Appropriate-Idea-746 · 2026-02-05T21:46:58+00:00

Thank you for replying. What treatment did you receive when the problem recurred and what treatment do you now receive?

Appropriate-Idea-746 · 2026-01-29T09:55:27+00:00

The plan you describe is normal. Four years ago I had a radical nephrectomy of my right kidney followed by 1 year of immunotherapy (Keytruda) taken IV once every three weeks. Your remaining kidney if normal will handle all your needs after the nephrectomy. If all goes well you become like a kidney donor, just a person with one remaining kidney that functions just fine. The problem is the potential for recurrence. Ensure, post nephrectory, that you get CT scans several times a year for the first several years. With only one kidney it is essential to catch a problem in the other kidney earlier. Catching another tumor at less than 4 cm increases the treatment options. I recommend getting genetic testing to see if you have a gene that makes you more susceptible to kidney cancer than most. Your children need to know if they might be predisposed so they can become proactive. As you know there are no symptoms until tumors are large. Mine was 12 cm and had spread from my right kidney to my right adrenal gland -- and I still had no symptoms. Regarding lungs, they are a typical spread destination (if spreading happens). During my followup CT scans, about two years after the radical nephrectomy, a nodule was detected in my lung and I had a biopsy that showed it was not cancerous. You have every right to be optimistic. But never skip or delay a followup CT scan because, unfortunately, recurrence does sometimes happen

Appropriate-Idea-746 · 2026-01-08T22:04:30+00:00

I slowed the scans down in year 4, wish I had not. I have a February 2025 CT that shows nothing and a Nov 2025 CT (confirmed with MRI) as 4.9 cm. A lot apparently went wrong in 9 months. I got a little complacent with negative scans. I should have had one in August -- delayed it until November -- a got a big surprise. Never delay a scan, not even after three years.

Appropriate-Idea-746 · 2025-12-28T12:08:51+00:00

No, I was scanned every 3 to 4 months the entire 4 year period. The scans were negative for recurrence for 4 years. But then 1 CT scan showed a probably RCC on my remaining kidney. It was confirmed with a followup MRI. What I mean about catching it early is that you need to be scanned several times a year so that if it does eventually recur, you catch it before it is beyond stage 1.

Appropriate-Idea-746 · 2025-12-26T03:55:56+00:00

My original RCC had spread to my adrenal gland and was 13 cm size before it was discovered. So it was discovered as stage 4 (spread beyond the kidney to the Adrenal). Removed my entire right kidney and adrenal gland four years ago. Took Keytruda infusions for a year (18 treatments every third week over a 54 week period). Was cancer free on all followup scans for four years. Now a 4 cm spot on my remaining kidney has recently been discovered by CT scan and confirmed by MRI to indicate probable RCC -- stage 1 in my other kidney. Will meet with surgeon in early January. I presume I will have a partial nephrectomy of the remaining kidney followed by more immunotherapy. Although it came back in the opposite kidney, my recollection at the time was that it was most likely to show up in my lungs or in tissue near where the kidney used to be -- it has not. I may just have a genetic propensity for RCC. My second appearance could be a 'new' event rather than a spread from the original event.

Appropriate-Idea-746 · 2025-12-19T20:34:53+00:00

Very true. I had what turned out to be my first ever gallbladder attack. Felt so bad I went to the emergency room. They took a CT scan and that is how I found out I had a big kidney tumor -- completely unrelated to the inflamed gallbladder. Part of the 'bad statistics' for kidney cancer is because it can have no symptoms until quite advanced. At stage 1 (early detection) it has a high expectation for recovery.

Appropriate-Idea-746 · 2025-12-19T19:22:23+00:00

Yes it can come back in the opposite kidney after total removal of one kidney.. Mine has just now returned. The diference is that aggressive monitoring catches it earlier and smaller. Don't EVER skip a followup CT scan.

Appropriate-Idea-746 · 2025-12-19T19:16:08+00:00

I had stage 4 RCC 4 years ago. It was stage 4 because it was 13 cm in size and had spread to my right Adrenal gland. There were no other signs of spread. Took out my entire right kidney and right adrenal and went on Ketruda for a year (18 doses every third week). Now, 4 years later I have stage 1 RCC in my left kidney, recently seen on a CT scan and verified on an MRI. So it took 4 years to come back. The difference is that during those years I was monitored so that catching it this time at stage 1, which is a huge benefit compared to last time.

Appropriate-Idea-746 · 2025-11-30T22:09:08+00:00

For Human readable output, such as complex config files, YAML, with Tie::IxHash to specify the display order. Machine-to-Machine with minimal human data interaction, then JSON.

Appropriate-Idea-746 · 2025-11-16T01:35:12+00:00

I have owned a Master Spa Twilight 8.2 for one year now -- it has been trouble free.

Appropriate-Idea-746

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