Thanks,
-- Doug in SCAt Sat, 26 Apr 2003, Doug wrote: > >This is my first time here and, although I am a guy, I am searching for >answers about the pain like so many of you that I have read about in >this forum. I probably don't belong in this group, but PLEASE hear me >out and offer ANY advice. > >Last August, my family doctor sent me in for a CT scan to try and find >out about some recurring kidney stone problems. What he discovered >instead has turned my whole life upside down. I have bilateral renal >cell carcinoma (malignant tumors on both kidneys). The first urologist >and oncologist felt that it was inoperable. The tumor on the right side >was 4 inches in diameter and the left one was 6 inches and had spread >into the adrenal gland and some regional lymph nodes (stage IIIB >cancer). They referred me to a larger regional clinic, which was a >blessing from above. They did immediate surgery to remove the tumor and >about 1/3 of the right kidney. Six weeks later, they performed a >radical nephrectomy on the left side, removing the whole kidney, adrenal >gland, some lymph nodes, and some surrounding tissue. The surgeon then >put me under the care of an oncologist to deal with the possible further >spread of the cancer. > >He is a great oncologist, but does not seem to understand why I have had >continuous sharp pain in my left side and abdomen for six months now. >Everything I have read on this website and in this forum sounds like my >pain. The doctor has me on two pain medications----one very strong one >that is designed for injured or damaged nerves and a "medium" one to >take the edge off during the daytime. I am working now, but do not like >feeling that I am constantly dazed, "clumsy", and exhausted all day. As >soon as I get home each day, I eat, take my evening dosages of pain meds >and go to sleep. I want to stop the pain and not take these >medications. They have done ultrasounds and CT scans and have found >nothing wrong. I have accepted my cancer plight and can deal with >that-----this constant pain, however, is a fight that I seem to be >losing. > >I live in South Carolina and am in very good health, other than the >cancer and this pain problem (he said, tongue-in-cheek!!). > >ANY HELP OR ADVICE WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. > >-- >Doug in SC >