Five years ago, when I was 67 my left kidney was removed. The tumor was the size of a football and my diagnosis was stage 3 kidney cancer. I was a body builder at the time and in excellent health. I stayed in the hospital a week, in bed for two weeks and mostly in bed for two more weeks. My pain level ranged between 4-8. The initial pain from surgery was worse than giving birth😅. Morphine drips make it all possible. I still have an abdominal muscle that “catches” and my left abs are weaker. The right side of my body compensates for that weakness and my shoulder to my ankle ache if I’m not careful to stretch and exercise. As you know, it is a commitment to constant self care. When I have gas from chemotherapy, a small part of my large intestine on the left is painful and an anti gas pill takes care of it. That surgery was followed by a year of a chemotherapy pill. A year ago it was determined that the cancer had metastasized, stage 4, and a lesion on my kidney was removed. I am not the body builder that I was five years ago, but after surgery I was near a bed for a week. It would have been easier if I had taken Senna-S right after surgery. The residual nerve pain lasted about a year. My pain level during that time ranged between 0 and 4 and I have a high tolerance for pain.
I followed that surgery with immunotherapy infusions (KeyTruda)and Inlyta for half-a-year until my immune system attacked my liver. I am still using prednisone to counteract that destruction. I have been taking Lenvima and Everolimus the last five months and the other lesions are shrinking or staying the same. When I can keep the chemotherapy side affects to a minimum, life is good and some days, wonderful . I understand your concerns about surgery and your decision not to do chemo. The “quality/quantity of life decisions” that I make as I dance a last Tango with this disease, are always focused on quality. I have learned to quickly initiate discussions with my Doc regarding chemo reductions, increased supplements, integrated medicine and chemo side affects to better support the quality of my life. It is a commitment to a roller coaster. It’s believing two contradicting theories at the same time and It is not a singular journey. I have friends and family who support me in so many ways. Because my cancer seems to be slow-growing I often wonder what my life would be like without chemo. I will want to know what you decide and how your Tango goes. Have you gotten a second opinion about removing the lesion instead of the kidney?