I know I haven’t kept up with this very well. Recovery has been slow and exhausting. i’m almost four weeks out and still in a lot of pain. Makes sense when you consider that they cut into my gut to remove the kidney. The muscles and such will take a while to heal.

But then, there’s the pathology report, and it isn’t happy. Looks like the cancer has spread outside the kidney, and I’ve been referred to an oncologist. This is my greatest fear. Having watched my dad die slowly and painfully from cancer back in the 90s, I’m afraid of chemo, afraid of going through this. But my appointment isn’t until the 26th of this month, so there’s not much I can do for now, but take things one day at a time.

Hi all, I have a serious update about what’s going on in my life. I had to have a physical before training with my new guide dog, shani. I happened to mention to the doctor that I was having some pain when I go to the bathroom. He did a test and we discovered blood in my urine. After two more tests with similar results, he had me get an ultra sound and referred me to a urologist. That doctor had me also get a CT scan of my kidneys. It turns out I have a large tumor in my lfet kidney and it is cancer. On April 20, I am having surgery to have my left kidney removed. I’m pretty freaked and scared, even though my head knows that millions of people live without one kidney and don’t have negative repercussions. But my dad died of cancer, so for me and my brothers and sister, the word cancer freaks us out. They don’t think the cancer has spread outside the kidney, so removing it should mean no chemo or anything like that.