Blog

This is a guest post by Christopher G. Wood, Jr, son of the KCA’s late Board Chair and friend, Dr. Christopher G. Wood, a world-renown urology surgeon at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. Follow Chris’s “Journey to 30” as he aims to raise $30,000 by his 30th birthday on September 14th for the KCA’s Dr. Christopher G. Wood Endowment. Dr. Christopher…

This is a guest post by Teri Wight, 51, a teacher and a chromophobe renal cell carcinoma survivor based in Arizona. Read her other blog post “Just Shy of a Decade and Still Learning.” At the age of 51, I am a nine-and-a-half-year survivor of chromophobe renal cell carcinoma, a rare type of kidney cancer that affects about 5% of…

Sean Healy joined the KCA’s Patient & Caregiver Advisory Council in 2024. Sean was diagnosed with stage 3 kidney cancer in 2018. He lives in Richmond, Virginia. What motivated you to get involved with the KCA? Sean with his family, left to right: Ryan, Paige, Patrick, Sean. When I was diagnosed with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in 2018,…

This is a guest post by Teri Wight, 51, who was diagnosed with chromophobe renal cell carcinoma in 2014. She is a teacher based in Arizona. Read her other blog post, "What Cancer Has Taught Me". At the age of 51, I am a nine and a half year survivor of chromophobe renal cell carcinoma (chRCC), a rare type of…

Nazy Zomorodian, RNC, MSN, CUNP, CCRC, is the Director of the Clinical Trials Program at the Institute of Urologic Oncology and a Urology Nurse Practitioner at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, as well as an associate Professor in the School of Medicine at UCLA in Los Angeles, California. What motivated you to get involved with the Kidney…

This is a guest post by Brandy Verdin, who was diagnosed with stage 4 renal cell carcinoma on May 1, 2023. She is based in Gray, Louisiana. I did everything I was supposed to do to live disease-free. Or at least I thought I had. My name is Brandy Verdin and I am a retired personal trainer and fitness nutrition…

Reena Cherry, MS, PA-C, is a Senior Physician Assistant at the UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center in San Diego, California. What motivated you to get involved with the Kidney Cancer Association? Reena Cherry with her family in London's West End theater district. I had the distinct honor and pleasure of working with Dr. Christopher G. Wood at MD Anderson…

This is a guest post by Carie Gort, 55, a patient advocate and stage 4 kidney cancer survivor/thriver. She lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I had been feeling generally unwell for several years leading up to my 50th birthday. Often tired and continuing to lack energy, it was something I had just grown used to. A few months following this…

Team – 82K Regional Challenge: Philadelphia The 82K Regional Challenge: Philadelphia team ready for their birding walk! Team Captain – Erin Tennity Richard. She fundraises with her nature-loving husband, Randy, who has been fighting kidney cancer since diagnosed in 2019. Location – Natural Lands' Bryn Coed Preserve, Chester Springs, Pennsylvania Date – June 8, 2024 Attendees: 15 Amount Raised – $7,993 Activity – An 82-minute nature and…

This is a guest post by Joshua Silva, a fitness enthusiast and creator (@joshsilva7 on Instagram) who was diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma in 2023 at age 31. He is based in Houston, Texas. Life has a way of catching us off guard when we least expect it. For me, it all started with severe stomach pains that led to…