I was diagnosed with Kidney Cancer on October 1st of 2009. Only a few weeks before that, I was shocked when I saw dark red blood while I was passing urine. Of course, I went to see an Urologist immediately. We both thought that I had a kidney stone and in order to confirm our presumption, he sent me for a CT-Scan.
But the result of the scan was very different from what we had expected. The slides indicated a 6.2 cm tumor in my left kidney. After a few more tests, I was going in for surgery on November 30th, to have my kidney removed via a robotic laparoscopic radical nephrectomy, a state of the art operation technique.
This is a short report on how I feel two weeks after I had the surgery done.
To my surprise, I am doing very well and I can't complain. Apparently, it's too early at this point to start working out again. I also have to be careful with lifting up heavy items, or just in general all activities that could put strain on my abdomen. But what I really couldn't understand at first: the doctors told me, that I will have no or only very limited dietary restrictions.
I thought that there would have been a short period of adjustment until the remaining kidney fully takes over for the missing one. But no, there is absolutely no noticeable difference. Except for avoiding eating foods in excess that are high in potassium, such as bananas and things that cause high levels of uric acids (red meats), I was told that I can eat whatever I want.
However, I did make a decision to be extra cautious. Meat, I never really liked anyway, so it was easy for me to scratch it off the list entirely. The same is true for candy and all the sugary stuff. And also all alcoholic beverages. When my wife got diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year, we both immediately changed to a very healthy lifestyle, which means cutting out everything that could be detrimental to our health.
Only a year ago, I had my blood and urine checked after I had to see my doctor because of joint pain I had encountered periodically. He diagnosed me with gout. My body was unable to discharge the excessive amounts of uric acid that were produced in my kidneys. Gout attacks are very painful. And I think only the stent that was put inside of me during a Cystoscopy, caused me more excruciating pain.
I weighed my options and the decision was made quickly. I had to stop consuming anything that could cause my body producing high amounts of uric acid. And how did I do that? Very simple. I just joined my wife and adopted her new eating habits. A lot of fresh veggies, a lot of green stuff like green smoothies; fruits, green tea and healthy grains like brown rice, amaranth and millet. And of course, trying to avoid processed food as much as possible.
I like to eat and it will always be like that. But nevertheless, now that I changed my diet by cutting out the bad things and eating only what is good for me, I can till eat as much as I want. As a 'side-effect' I lost a noticeable amount of weight and I am now down to my ideal number again.
I really can't complain. I do feel very well and it's only two weeks after my left kidney was removed. I wish I could start working out again, but obviously I am not ready for that, yet.
But other than that, I'm doing great. - 29763
But the result of the scan was very different from what we had expected. The slides indicated a 6.2 cm tumor in my left kidney. After a few more tests, I was going in for surgery on November 30th, to have my kidney removed via a robotic laparoscopic radical nephrectomy, a state of the art operation technique.
This is a short report on how I feel two weeks after I had the surgery done.
To my surprise, I am doing very well and I can't complain. Apparently, it's too early at this point to start working out again. I also have to be careful with lifting up heavy items, or just in general all activities that could put strain on my abdomen. But what I really couldn't understand at first: the doctors told me, that I will have no or only very limited dietary restrictions.
I thought that there would have been a short period of adjustment until the remaining kidney fully takes over for the missing one. But no, there is absolutely no noticeable difference. Except for avoiding eating foods in excess that are high in potassium, such as bananas and things that cause high levels of uric acids (red meats), I was told that I can eat whatever I want.
However, I did make a decision to be extra cautious. Meat, I never really liked anyway, so it was easy for me to scratch it off the list entirely. The same is true for candy and all the sugary stuff. And also all alcoholic beverages. When my wife got diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year, we both immediately changed to a very healthy lifestyle, which means cutting out everything that could be detrimental to our health.
Only a year ago, I had my blood and urine checked after I had to see my doctor because of joint pain I had encountered periodically. He diagnosed me with gout. My body was unable to discharge the excessive amounts of uric acid that were produced in my kidneys. Gout attacks are very painful. And I think only the stent that was put inside of me during a Cystoscopy, caused me more excruciating pain.
I weighed my options and the decision was made quickly. I had to stop consuming anything that could cause my body producing high amounts of uric acid. And how did I do that? Very simple. I just joined my wife and adopted her new eating habits. A lot of fresh veggies, a lot of green stuff like green smoothies; fruits, green tea and healthy grains like brown rice, amaranth and millet. And of course, trying to avoid processed food as much as possible.
I like to eat and it will always be like that. But nevertheless, now that I changed my diet by cutting out the bad things and eating only what is good for me, I can till eat as much as I want. As a 'side-effect' I lost a noticeable amount of weight and I am now down to my ideal number again.
I really can't complain. I do feel very well and it's only two weeks after my left kidney was removed. I wish I could start working out again, but obviously I am not ready for that, yet.
But other than that, I'm doing great. - 29763
About the Author:
The author Tony Ulrich provides a independend kidney cancer information on his Website about Kidney Cancer , where he talks about how his own and his wife's cancer diagnoses have changed their lives.
