Renal Cancer: What are you supposed to feel after surgery?

Hi. Can anyone tell me their experience with a radical nephrectomy for kidney cancer such as how long was the surgery, recovery time, and treatment afterwards (chemo or radiation). Thank you in advance.

Hi, @jewels5 -- welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I have merged your post with this one talking about renal cancer and kidney removal so you could meet others talking about the topics about which you are asking. I'd love for you to meet @darlia @trishanna @oldirish1 and others here and hear their experiences with this disease, and also things like radical nephrectomy, recovery time and treatment afterwards, as that applies.

I thought you might be interested in this Mayo Clinic information about kidney cancer: https://mayocl.in/2J3IIwI.

@jewels5 -- do you have a surgery scheduled? How have you been feeling?

My husband was diagnosed with kidney cancer, very large tumor. He is scheduled for surgery Aug 9. Do most people dealing with this have surgery first and then chemo/radiation or the other way around?

Welcome @jewels5 .. I am a renal cell carcinoma survivor. Right nephrectomy. Done in March 2008, so 10 yrs now been cancer free. Mine was caught at early stage 1. Only 1 cm in size. Encapsulated and back then there wasn't as many options so surgery was the best choice. I've been living a normal life on one kidney. I get a scan every year for the FU but because it was small and had not spread, no other actions were needed like chemo or radiation. They did tell me that kidney cancer is the slowest growing and that I'd already had it like 3 yrs when they discovered it. I had no symptoms yet either. Scarey that it had been in my body that long, I thought. It was seen on an ultrasound that was done to basically take a look at my stomach due to Acid Reflux and the Gastro Dr had ordered the complete abdomen be done. Sooooo. I was thankful for that. I was only 48 when it was found! Young and being female it was not common. I suspect it came from either smoking (I'd quit in '99) or mold in the house or being around asbestos without knowledge. Guess we'll never know.
If it's spread to other parts of his body, chemo is the usual choice I've heard. The scar I have is in my abdomen and its about 7-8 inches. I have keloid scar now too as it runs in our family. The recoup time in hospital was like 6 days for me. If I can help with other ?'s I'll be happy to help. Darlia

Thank you for your information. It was very helpful. Were you working when you had surgery? If so how much time did you need off from work? If this is slow slowing I hate to know how long my husband has had this cuz it is huge. Julie

Hi, @jewels5. Sorry to hear of your husband's diagnosis. I can understand your concerns. I believe that the growth of cancer is determined by the kind of cancer it is - there is no such thing as a single kind of "kidney cancer." I can only speak to the recovery from surgery part of your question, although as far as I know, radiation or chemo come after the surgery in the majority of cases. I do believe that surgery - at least in the case of kidney cancer - is the way to go. My recovery went quite well. I had pain, but traveled 200 miles two days later, and my life was back to mostly normal in six weeks. I did not require chemo or radiation. Two important points: walking is extremely important - walk as much as possible as soon after surgery as possible. Do not lift any heavy objects. Please Google everything to learn - there's a lot of information to be had. There's also some misinformation, but the more you learn, the better you will be able to judge for yourself. Lastly, I was not working at the time, but it seems to me most post surgery patients return to work in two weeks or less. It depends upon what type of work one does, and, of course, your general health and, if any, complications from surgery.
Good luck!

Thank you for your response. It is helpful to hear from other people going through the same or similar situations. Julie

Has anyone ever had a Robotic surgery due to a cancerous mass? Taking part of my kidney..how long was your surgery stay and best type of pain meds?

Hi @granny50846
There are several members in the Cancer group talking about kidney cancer surgery. I'm not sure if some of them have had robotic surgery for partial nephrectomy. You can read more about it here: https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/robotic-surgery/about/pac-20394974

You may also be interested in connecting with other members in this discussion on Connect.
- Renal Cancer: What are you supposed to feel after surgery? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/what-are-suppose-to-feel-after-sugary/

Granny, when do you expect to have surgery?

@granny50846, I am not experienced in the cancer or the surgery that you are facing. However, I was drawn to your question because I saw the words "Kidney" and "Robotic Surgery".
A couple days ago there was a video Q&A from the Pediatric Department at Mayo. And there was a short segment about Robotic Surgery, that I found very informative. I want to share it with you, just in case you are interested. It is a relatively short video, only 30 minutes -
Video Q&A about Problems Affecting the Kidneys, Bladder, Urethra or Genital Tract
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/webinar/video-qa-about-problems-affecting-the-kidneys-bladder-urethra-or-genital-tract/
Hugs.