A word of advice, if you ever (heaven forbid) find out you have kidney cancer, please consider a second opinion before getting a biopsy performed. When I learned that I had kidney cancer, and the doctor told me I would need a biopsy, I didnt think twice about having it done. I just assumed my doctor knew what he was talking about. He already had my surgery scheduled to remove my right kidney. It wasnt until AFTER the biopsy that I decided I wanted my surgery done in Dallas. The surgeon in Dallas told me up front that if I had come to him first that he would NOT have recommended a biopsy. He said that a biopsy could cause the cancer to spread, and that he could say almost certainly just by looking at my scans that it WAS cancer. What was done was done, and I couldnt go back and UNDO the biopsy, but I have wished a million times over that I would have gone for that second opinion. Just recently I joined a kidney cancer survivors group on FaceBook, and I posted about my concern regarding the biopsy and asked if anyone had NOT had a biopsy before their surgery. Out of 20 responses, 18 out of 20 DID NOT have a biopsy. That has not helped my feelings at all, and I just want to get the word out that there so people can be aware, and not be as dumb as I was. I am not saying that there are not some cases where a biopsy might be a necessity, maybe even in some cases of kidney cancer, but from what I gather from some the comments that I have read, kidney tumors are almost always malignant and are not worth the risk of a biopsy. Of note, my path report states that the tumor was bleeding. When I questioned my surgeon about that, the bleeding was probably caused by the biopsy (it took 3 attempts before they were able to get an adequate sample). We all know that one of the ways that cancer is spread is through the bloodstream! I mostly manage to stay optimistic about my prognosis, because my tumor was very small, and even though I did have the biopsy, my surgeon still thinks I will be fine... and I am taking that to the bank. I feel very fortunate that it was caught so early and so small. I had a smooth, uneventful recovery and am 4 years out now and doing fine. For that, I am giving God the credit.
Posted on: Sun, 17 Nov 2013 05:13:27 +0000
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