From the Start...

Hello! Welcome to my blog! The reason I am starting this blog is to give hope, support and understanding to others who have been diagnosed with kidney cancer, or have a loved one who has, or are a fellow kidney cancer survivor. My name is Kim, I am married with 2 teen boys and work fulltime at a national telecom company. I am a 4 year kidney cancer survivor and this is my story...It started on November 30th, 2006, I was at my workplace and suddenly had sharp abdominal pains. The pain was so intense that I was doubled over and then felt sick at my stomach. I went home early fearing I just had a virus but later in the evening I felt worse. My husband took me to the emergency room and about an hour later was released. The doctor there felt it too was a virus but advised me to contact my personal physician if I did not feel better by Monday. I didn't feel better by Monday, so I made an appointment to see my doctor that morning. Initially, he thought it might be my appendix so he ordered a CATSCAN of my abdominal area. I went to the lab to have this done and after the labtech took the scan, she left to make sure she had a clear scan. I should have known something was up when she was gone almost 20 minutes and came back and told me abruptly that she would get the scan to my physician ASAP. I thought she was just having a bad day...Little did I know it was going to be me who was going to have the bad day...My physician called my house and my youngest son(then 10)answered the phone and I then grabbed our bedroom phone. He cut to the chase...He apologized for not telling me face to face but wanted me to know ASAP what was going on. It seems my appendix was fine but they discovered an incidental finding. There was mass on my right kidney and he referred me to a urologist the next day. He also said I probably did have a virus and that virus probably saved my life because the early stages of kidney cancer really have no physical or visual signs. As I hungup from that call, my 10 year old came in crying...He had never hungup the other phone...He had heard my diagnosis and wanted to know if I was going to be alright and I tried to comfort him but I too, was so scared. The next day, my husband & I met with my urologist who viewed my scan and said that indeed there was a 1 inch tumor on my right kidney and that to prevent it from spreading, would have to be removed VERY soon. He said chemo would not be needed as long as it was the early stages and it had not spread. He scheduled my surgery for the next week. My husband & I cried all the way home. When we came home, we pulled ourselves together enough to try to tell the boys in the calmest way possible what was going on. My youngest son(loves science)wanted to know if he could have my kidney after it was removed? lol That was a much needed laugh after a day of crying. The next week was hell, telling everyone, making arrangements for help with the boys while I was in the hospital, trying to come to terms that I had cancer. The date of my surgery came and went smooth but the day following my surgery, my urologist said he wanted a chest xray. Before I had been admitted to the hospital, my urologist had requested blood tests, chest xrays, etc. He had seen something on those xrays that he feared was a mass on my chest. I was a basketcase...Here I had made it through the surgery to remove this tumor and now he was telling me that there may be more...The xrays came back fine. It was an enlarged blood vessel and not a tumor. Thank God! I went home the next day to recover. Four years later...no reoccurences(knock on wood)but still have emotional moments. I thank God for my husband, my sons, my friends, and family that stood by me through it all. I never take my health for granted anymore and if you are reading this please at least take that away from this if nothing else...