Diagnosed with tumor on kidney: What question to ask the urologist?

@gangcarotid1 Thank you for your intuitive reply. I am overwhelmed and trying to "fix" everything right now. I am jobless as of 6/26. This is scary. Working to get SSDI due to my stage 3. Still it won't be enough to live on. I am 11 days post nephrectomy and feeling pretty good other than the anxiety and depression after Tuesday's pathology report. I had hoped it would be stage 2. Now I have to get adjuvant. Which is ok, but worried about side effects and my chronic kidney disease. I wish I could live on SSDI, but it's not enough. That means I need a part time job when im feeling better. I wish I could focus on my diet CKD, exercise, and cancer treatments and not work.

@quirky9
You are stronger than you think you are!
Don't try to eat the whole elephant at once; one bite at a time. You'll very likely get real sick of the taste of elephant but tell yourself everyday, "today will be better than yesterday" and generally at the end of each day, youll be able to say "today WAS BETTER than yesterday. I feel your fear. It will be 2 yrs this October since they took the malignancies out of me, but everyday now, I eat for my labs, go 6 mi/30 min everyday on my stationery bike, do isometric/isotonic arm crunches. Im sorry grateful; Im not gonna mess thus up. In April they informed me the small cyst on my other kidney is now "suspicious for neoplasm" and that they very likely will be doing a biopsy when I return in October.
I understand the frequent crying. Its so frustrating, so scary. I try to 'give it to God', but I end up yanking it right back. Sometimes I squirrel away from everyone and play that song "Be Not Afraid" and cry. I try to stay busy, though, and that helps. Sending bundles of love and prayers to you! We can do this!!

@gangcarotid1 I actually had laproscopic manual surgery. 4 small keyhole incisions for the lap. Then the surgeon did use an old vertical scar I had at 15 for exploratory appendectomy. Then 10 years later same scar used for emergency c section. Now 35 years later same scar for radical nephrectomy. I couldn't get much rest at the hospital, plus I didn't want it to cost more. I was OK to go home on oxycodone and Tylenol for the pain. First 4 to 5 days were rough. Now I am day ten post nephrectomy on Tylenol when needed. Today was the first day I drove to a Dr. Appt. Then walked a mile through the hospital and parking lot. Lol. Im ok. Waiting on next appts. My pathology was pT1b in the kidney, but clear cell renal cancsr was found in 1 hilarious lymph node. That made is Stage III Grade 3 cancer. I will likely do Keytruda treatments a year. I am unemployed and have an appt to try to get survivor benefits on ex husbands record Aug 10th. The stage and grade may qualify me for disability. Scared about treatments, but more scared of this recurring elsewhere. Heaven forbid in my other kidney. I cry everyday. Hopefully, my anxiety a d depression will ease up after I have appts. With a plan. Thank you for your reply. Im 60 and I think too young to die of cancer. God has a plan for me, I am thankful to him how he has protected me my whole life and especially now.

@quirky9
Thanks for sharing; reminds me I should be careful what I ask for!🫢I never saw the tumors removed from my kidney and Im very ok with that. My tumors werent within my kidney; were on the outside, top and bottom, along with the 19 oz of fat they fileted off my kidney..the fat actually isolated my bladder from the malignancy. So, they did ablation? Otherwise, Im shocked you're already home after 24 hrs. But Im confused by seeing the pic, if you didnt get cut open? How does that work? Laparoscopic?
Im sorry your boss was so uncaring. I am 70; retired at age 60. Can actually say in the 40 years I was employed, I only had one supervisor that was good at being the boss. At various times when I was the boss, I always kept it at the front of my mind how Id want to be treated if I WASNT the supervisor/boss/foreman.
Praying now that each day gets better for you!

@gangcarotid1
Not pretty. Whole kidney with a 6 x 6cm in the middle. The dark spots are blood hemorrhage. Renal cancer has vascularity. This a bivalved or fileted kidney so you see the inside. Dark maroon sides and bottom kidney. Fat is all the yellow mess on the outside .

Thank you for sharing your experience, although it sounds like you had much going on personally as well. So encouraging to know you were home within 24 hours. I am sure you are anxious to get the biopsy back. My kids want me to get the tumor out and just put it behind me. Because I have options for removal and the tumor is 2.6cm I will wait until December to see if any change.Did you have any symptoms prior to diagnosis? How did docs find the tumor? Mine was incidental to elevated liver enzymes.

@quirky9
Sure!🫣

@gangcarotid1
I had my radical on Monday. Home in under 24 hrs. My surgeon said my right kidney is doing fine. Due to location, my tumor could not be removed and nephrons saved. I am glad I didn't have a choice actually. I know the suspected ccRCC is in a lab and not in my body anymore. Waiting on stage and grade. My chest, thyroid, top of liver CT showed clear prior to surgery. Pain is manageable. My diet is not as fabulous as you and patty! Kudos! But I have changed it. No red meat, no processed, no salt, no alcohol. More clean food. Im not diabetic. Hoping for low stage, grade on pathology. Dealing with the stress of being forced out of my job 10 days before major surgery has not helped, but I have tried to put it to the back of my priorities. Still have health insurance. Will get 1 more check 15th of the month. Unsympathetic, unethical, born into money and arrogant boss, who by the way had Wilms at 5 and has always had 1 kidney, thinks what I am going through should be a walk in the park! F#CK him and kidney cancer. If you want to see my tumor let me know.

@pattymltn
Any kind of radiation, even proton, would be last on my list of preferences. Its the 'gift that keeps on giving'... for the rest of your life. Though, if radiation was my only option, definitely proton therapy would be my 1st choice. There is not a 100% possibility of getting all the cancer, more like 75-85%. I was healthy enough for the surgery, and with the Mayo surgeon saying he believed he had a 95% chance of saving my kidney... those are pretty good odds when looking at any kind of cancer!
It took me about 4 mos to completely heal. Was pretty uncomfortable for a good 2 mos, even riding in a vehicle was horrid. I actually screamed into a pillow when we flew home from Rochester and landed back home. My husband was (IS!!) a saint. By 3 mos I was able to cook, handle housework that didnt require alot of bending over or lifting... my incision was 2" below my navel clear up to between my breasts... my last opioid drugs were taken on Day 6 after the surgery, and then I took them 1 time again when we flew home 5 days later. (Surgeon recommended we stay in Rochester til I stabilized enough to walk short distances, etc.) I am doing well now, relative to the left kidney surgery. Because I had 2 tumors, malignant, I'm considered Intermediate Risk for recurrence, so Mayo wants to see me every 3-6 mos. After 2 rounds of 3 mos, they lengthened it to 6 mos as my labs have been stellar. Now though, Im starting to have twinge of dull pain on my right flank where I have a 1.3 (1.6?) cm on the other kidney. 6 mos ago, the CT notes changed from 'suspicious cyst' to 'suspicious neoplasm that should be considered for further testing via ultrasound and/or biopsy at next visit, depending on labs, symptoms and urinalysis'. So, that'll be in October.
Ongoing.. but i feel very blessed.

@gangcarotid1 Thank you for your note. I am also eating and living a healthy lifestyle, always have ( gave up sugar 5 years ago and alcohol 7 years ago) but sometimes you just can't have control over all aspects of health. I have only had the one kidney scanned and am wondering if both should be looked at. Happy your situation was partial nephrectomy. How do you feel? They say your kidney can bounce back quickly. Did you consider adaptive radiotherapy?