I know it's been quite some time since I posted on my cancer events. Between work, the holidays and not feeling well, posting slipped down on my priority list.
Lets see, where do I begin? The ureter stent gave me nothing but trouble since the day it was placed. Terrible pain, pressure, urgency, frequency...something wasn't right but, was told by the urologist what I was feeling was normal and I would just have to deal with it. The discomfort kept getting progressively worse and soon became unbearable. I had another CT scan done the beginning of January which showed that the stent had again migrated distally and my hydronephrosis had worsened. About a week prior to the scan I began to experience pain in my left lower abdomen and lower back as well. I thought it might be referred pain, nerve pain or my bowels since I had been having to take pain medication daily. According to the CT, all area's of cancer were either stable or slightly changed but nothing showed that would alarm us. Nothing was seen in the left lower abdomen either. For that I am most grateful. I followed up with my urologist, Dr. Klein who removed the stent in his office. It was an emotional day. In reviewing the CT films, my right kidney looked much like the fist of a grown man to the fist of a small child as compared with my left kidney. I was told that my ureter was apparently fully occluded by the tumor and my kidney would eventually "shrivel up and die". Harsh words for me to hear.
I followed up with Dr. Kilgore again a couple days later. He again reminded me that my cancer is incurable. We discussed the results of the scan. No need to rush into chemo at this time. He reminded me that the chemo I am eventually facing is very harsh and will make me extremely ill. Since everything is stable, I am certainly ok with waiting. I need to keep working and living and I need to feel good for more than just a few hours at a time...know what I mean? We discussed the kidney situation and my new pain in the left lower abdomen. Thinking it could be my bowels, we decided that I would work on that for the next few days and see if there would be any improvement. I get a renal scan done the end of January. Dr. Klein said that if my kidney showed 50% or greater function we would re-stent. If not, we would let my kidney die. Not an acceptable choice for me.
I got my mag citrate, Correctol, Mira-lax and enemas and got started on a week of bowel cleansing. Still no relief from the pain. It was difficult to continue working as I just wanted to lay on the couch curled in a ball and take enough pain medication to afford me some rest. I was very tired and discouraged. Then one day...last Wednesday to be exact. I woke up and the pain was gone. It has yet to return...so odd, but not complaining.
We'll see what the plan will be after my renal scan. I want to re-visit possibly having the tumor removed with Dr. Kilgore. Every time I have asked I am given the same answer of "the risks out weigh the benefits, do you want to end up with a colostomy?" I'm not satisfied with that answer. So, I will once again ask and possibly get a second opinion. It just doesn't make sense to me to allow my kidney to die because the stupid tumor is taking up space. Why not remove the tumor which also decreases chance for recurrence in that area and save the kidney too?! Am I missing something here?
Glad for now that I'm pain free, active, happy and waiting impatiently for Spring.
Lets see, where do I begin? The ureter stent gave me nothing but trouble since the day it was placed. Terrible pain, pressure, urgency, frequency...something wasn't right but, was told by the urologist what I was feeling was normal and I would just have to deal with it. The discomfort kept getting progressively worse and soon became unbearable. I had another CT scan done the beginning of January which showed that the stent had again migrated distally and my hydronephrosis had worsened. About a week prior to the scan I began to experience pain in my left lower abdomen and lower back as well. I thought it might be referred pain, nerve pain or my bowels since I had been having to take pain medication daily. According to the CT, all area's of cancer were either stable or slightly changed but nothing showed that would alarm us. Nothing was seen in the left lower abdomen either. For that I am most grateful. I followed up with my urologist, Dr. Klein who removed the stent in his office. It was an emotional day. In reviewing the CT films, my right kidney looked much like the fist of a grown man to the fist of a small child as compared with my left kidney. I was told that my ureter was apparently fully occluded by the tumor and my kidney would eventually "shrivel up and die". Harsh words for me to hear.
I followed up with Dr. Kilgore again a couple days later. He again reminded me that my cancer is incurable. We discussed the results of the scan. No need to rush into chemo at this time. He reminded me that the chemo I am eventually facing is very harsh and will make me extremely ill. Since everything is stable, I am certainly ok with waiting. I need to keep working and living and I need to feel good for more than just a few hours at a time...know what I mean? We discussed the kidney situation and my new pain in the left lower abdomen. Thinking it could be my bowels, we decided that I would work on that for the next few days and see if there would be any improvement. I get a renal scan done the end of January. Dr. Klein said that if my kidney showed 50% or greater function we would re-stent. If not, we would let my kidney die. Not an acceptable choice for me.
I got my mag citrate, Correctol, Mira-lax and enemas and got started on a week of bowel cleansing. Still no relief from the pain. It was difficult to continue working as I just wanted to lay on the couch curled in a ball and take enough pain medication to afford me some rest. I was very tired and discouraged. Then one day...last Wednesday to be exact. I woke up and the pain was gone. It has yet to return...so odd, but not complaining.
We'll see what the plan will be after my renal scan. I want to re-visit possibly having the tumor removed with Dr. Kilgore. Every time I have asked I am given the same answer of "the risks out weigh the benefits, do you want to end up with a colostomy?" I'm not satisfied with that answer. So, I will once again ask and possibly get a second opinion. It just doesn't make sense to me to allow my kidney to die because the stupid tumor is taking up space. Why not remove the tumor which also decreases chance for recurrence in that area and save the kidney too?! Am I missing something here?
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1 comment:
Thinking of you, my dear sister. Hope you will get more answers when you go to the doc the next time. Perhaps you will have to ask him to list out the specific risks and benefits of the tumor removal so you can decide for yourself. I know you will be delighted to get back to work on the house. I plan to get down there in the spring :)
Love,
Bev
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