Post-op & Genetic Appointment

Jeff had his post-op appointment last Friday. His incisions on the outside are healing nicely. He has six port holes and a cut that resembles a large c-section on his lower abdomen. He looks like he has gone to battle but one look at his stomach and the kids immediately took note to be careful with daddy and have been great being aware of it. There are large vessels that connect to the kidney and then the tumor itself was also pretty vascular so they had to clamp several vessels internally so even with the outside incisions looking good Jeff is still not allowed to do anything that causes intra-abdominal pressure to make sure those heal completely on the inside too. Because of that, with his job being physical when he's operating, and to get his endurance back up Jeff will be off work for another month.  We are all still amazed that this thing came back as stage 2 and very grateful for that, although being grateful for a certain type of cancer has been a strange phenomena within itself. Two lymph nodes were also removed and sent in to pathology which thankfully came back normal. All within a short time we most likely would have been in a very different type of post-op appointment and truly are grateful we just missed a catastrophe this time around. That being said, the surgeon said we still will need to be very vigilant so rather than the 6 month scan Jeff will be having another full work up in April which will include another chest x-ray, CT scan, and lab work. If all clears in April the plan will be to have another full work up in July as well. Being down a kidney they are trying to find a balance of watching things closely but not giving so much contrast that it has an adverse effect on his left kidney and also to not give Jeff so much radiation over the course of his life that it causes other issues. 

The nurse in me brought my list of questions and Dr. K was incredibly patient with answering them. Since others have asked us some of the same questions, I'll put a few of those questions & answers below here for those who are interested. We also had the genetic counselor appointment yesterday. Jeff went and had the blood work done for that today and we should get the results in 2-3 weeks. 

What lifestyle changes does Jeff need to make?

No contact sports will be in his future, no helis off the ski jumps (unless he's already a hidden pro),  & no career change to something such as law enforcement. (Jeff is very happy with his career, that was just to say nothing that can put him his other kidney at risk 😊).

What diet restrictions?

No high protein diets (high protein makes the kidney work hard) and no crazy high salt intake.  So he was told a bacon extravaganzas might not be the best idea. 😉

Where are the main areas we look if this was to show itself again? 

All of the surrounding organs (liver, pancreas, intestines, gall bladder, stomach), the other kidney, and the lungs. 

What happens if this shows up in the other kidney?

The reason Jeff is getting scans frequently is to try and catch this early if it shows up again.  If it does go to his other kidney the hope is it will be caught early enough they could just remove part of the kidney rather then the whole kidney.  

What happens if in the future he needs a kidney transplant?

Jeff will need to be cancer free for 5 years before he would qualify for a transplant. This is because the anti-rejection medications used in a transplant also knock down your immune system which would allow the chance of cancer to stir up if there was any hidden in his body. Dialysis is just plain hard and not a great option unless absolutely necessary so we are going to hope and pray neither will be needed in the future. 

These last two months have been a whirlwind. Jeff's advice is to not hesitate to get something checked out, even if it seems small. Seems very cliche to say that but he easily could have put this off as not a big deal with no other symptoms. Also, make sure you have your life insurance where you need it to be if you haven't yet, even if you're considered young & healthy, don't put it off. Although the last thing we want to do is live in fear, the reality of life is we aren't invincible no matter what your current health status is, your lifestyle, or age.  You prepare so you don't have to worry about the what ifs so if you get a call of the unthinkable you can concentrate only on that and not have to worry about the rest. Thankfully we were mostly there but this was still an eye opener. 

We once again are humbled by the support, prayers, encouragement, meals, cards, texts, and care boxes. Those all seem to come at perfect times of when we needed some pick me ups and we can't say thank you enough for each and every one of you. We haven't always been great at responding but please know that each one was read or listened to and have been deeply and greatly appreciated!