I am a 53 year old woman married with two adult children. I am a physical therapist. I am a PhD student working on my PhD in Physical Therapy from Texas Woman’s University in Dallas, TX. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
Kidney Cancer and medical treatment
On December 15, 2017 I was diagnosed with kidney cancer that had spread to my lungs and bone. I am receiving excellent care from my team of doctors at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW) in Dallas Texas. The first oncologist I met with before transferring my care to UTSW gave me 6 months to 2 years and offered very little hope. My team at UTSW are treating me aggressively and have given me hope that I am not too far gone and am worth this aggressive treatment.
On January 10, 2018 I had surgery to remove my right kidney and the grapefruit sized tumor that engulfed it and extended through the vein from the kidney and into my vena cava, the largest vein in my body. Since then I have had multiple surgeries to repair broken bones in my left leg and right arm. I also had many rounds of radiation treatment to treat metastatic tumors in my bones. Gamma Knife radiation treatment got rid of 8 tumors in by brain. Systemic treatment included immunotherapy infusions, and targeted drug treatments. It has been a roller coaster for sure!
My health today
I am responding well to treatment. Many tumors are shrinking and a couple have disappeared from my lungs. Currently my cancer is stable! I still have metastatic tumors in my lungs and bones but they are not growing or spreading. The tumors in my brain are gone. I understand that my diagnosis is serious. The 5 year survival rate for patients like me is about 5-9%. Despite this grim statistic, I am not ready to throw in the towel! I intend fight to stay alive and live each day the best I can with purpose and thankfulness. I am fighting with all my might doing everything I can to live, while relying on my Heavenly Father to take the rest and fight my battle for me. With Him nothing is impossible. Alone, this is impossible.
No matter what my outcome is, I am so thankful for the beautiful life I have been given. I am learning so much from this experience. I started this blog to write about my experiences dealing with this life changing diagnosis. Thank you for visiting.