Have run into a health issue - need prayers

hawkeye08 · Oct 4, 2013

Praying, best wishes and blessings.

Alan L. · Oct 4, 2013

Thanks guys for the continued prayers. Surgery set for 11/12 at Zale Lipsey which is part of UT Southwestern Medical School.

Met with the Urologist/surgeon this morning and I felt positive after it was over. He says based on the CT of abdomen/pelvis nothing else shows up and to him the tumor looks to be 6-7 cm, in the lower pole of the kidney. Just a bit too large and into the center of the kidney for him to recommend saving any part of the kidney so it will be a full removal. However he will leave the adrenal which he says looks fine. He will do the surgery laproscopically, although there will be an incision large enough to get the kidney out. He thinks based on the CT that it tumor appears to be confined to the kidney and is not in the renal vein, etc. It really just looks like the bottom half of the kidney is swollen. He says he has treated much worse and was very positive abot the outlook. Says probably only 2 nights in the hospital.

ultrarunner · Oct 4, 2013

Exactly what my neighbor faced this past Spring...

He was back on his tractor a couple of weeks after the surgery...

Laparoscopy is a blessing if you are a candidate

brin · Oct 4, 2013

Great news Alan and keep in mind as far as only having one kidney....Just think of the perfectly health people we read about that happily give up one of their kidneys to a family member, friend or I have even read of folks giving a kidney to perfect strangers...So living on one kidney must not be horrible if they are willingly giving one up....I think you will be fine...good news...

creekbend · Oct 4, 2013

Sincere best wishes. Everything will be fine. Medical procedures have really advanced in recent years.

Mace Canute · Oct 4, 2013

Don't worry. I had to have a radical nephrectomy done just over 4 years ago and it turned out just fine as I'm sure yours will too.

As a side note, I found out just 2 days before I retired that I had kidney cancer! How's that for timing?

Western · Oct 4, 2013

Alan, that is an awesome blessing!! I guess they will biopsy it after the surgery.

Side thought, if the Doc has trouble with the removal, I bet a bunch of us TBN'rs have enough tools to get ya cleaned out!!:laughing:

Thanks for the update too.

mikim · Oct 4, 2013

sorry you have to go through this ....but you know we're all pulling for ya and some of us have btdt with C. Good Luck God bless....

Alan L. · Oct 5, 2013

Turns out they are 90% certain from the appearance that it is malignant. They don't like to do biopsies on the kidneys because it can seed the tumor cells along the track of the needle. Thus they bag it up and take it out in bloc, then do the pathology. I have a friend who a year or so ago had 2 tumors on his kidney, one about as big as mine. Took out his kidney and have found out a week later both of them were benign. I guess I can hope for that result. He liked the facility and the surgeon and I am using the same one.

If you have not had your abdomen scanned in years everyone should at least get an ultrasound - they are pretty cheap especially considering the things that might be caught early. Doc says I have probably had this one for years, growing about half a cm per year. Would have been nice to have found it when it was smaller, but I am glad it was found now otherwise I would still not know.