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This is a guest post by Marquita Spriggs, 44. She lives with her family in Waldorf, Maryland. Marquita Spriggs One evening while working out in 2015, I had a pain in my side that barely allowed me to walk. My husband insisted we go to the emergency room, and I am so grateful he did. I was thinking I pulled…

This is a guest post by Julie Mulligan, 52. She lives in Burlington, Wisconsin with her family. Julie Mulligan with her husband Tim and sons Alex and Zack. In March of 2022, I went to the doctor after noticing blood in my urine—just once. I felt healthy and assumed it was nothing serious. At the time, I was a mom…

This is a guest post by Nicole Albor, 34. Nicole's husband Todd Allebach, 38, was diagnosed with a rare hereditary type of kidney cancer. They live with their two children near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Todd Allebach and Nicole Albor. Kidney cancer wasn’t something we ever thought about, until we had no other choice. My name is Nicole Albor, and my husband,…

This is a guest post by Dick Cardew, 51, who was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer. He lives in Arizona. Jennifer and Dick Cardew I was diagnosed with kidney cancer at 48 years old after doctors discovered a 10-centimeter tumor incidentally on my kidney. Like many patients, I had no warning signs that suggested something so serious was happening.…

The Kidney Cancer Association holds its annual International Kidney Cancer Symposium (IKCS) North America meeting each November. Some members of KCA's Clinical Advisory Board (CAB) attended the meeting to review the sessions and provide an overview for the entire kidney cancer clinical team. Read on to learn more! Multi-functional NPs (MINPs) can target both renal cell carcinoma (RCC) tumors, while…

In a recent episode of the Cancer Interviews podcast, Joshua Silva of Houston, Texas, shared his journey as a survivor of clear cell renal cell carcinoma, a form of kidney cancer. Josh, 33, first noticed gastrointestinal issues and lower back discomfort but initially dismissed the symptoms. It wasn’t until a night of severe abdominal pain that he went to the ER, where a CT scan revealed…

Ritchie Johnson, MBA, BSN, RN, founder and president of the Chris ‘CJ’ Johnson Foundation (CJF) and member of the KCA's Patient & Caregiver Advisory Council, was recently featured in Bold Journey magazine. CJF, a KCA Affiliate Partner, supports patients and families impacted by renal medullary carcinoma, a rare and aggressive type of kidney cancer often affecting adolescent and young adult…

This is a guest post by Julia Stevens, PharmD, BCOP at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts and a member of the Kidney Cancer Association's Clinical Advisory Board. Julia Stevens, PharmD, BCOP Case Study: Jan's Angelic Voice Got Lost in Kidney Cancer Treatment My patient Jan was a vibrant 60-something year old woman diagnosed with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. The first time I…

This blog post has been funded by an educational grant from Bristol Myers Squibb. Immunotherapy has become an important treatment option for many people living with kidney cancer. While these medicines have traditionally been given through an IV infusion, some immunotherapies are now also available as a subcutaneous injection. Understanding how these options compare can help patients have more informed…

This is a guest post by Kevin O'Hanlon, 49, from New York, married to Jane, and together they have four sons. Kevin O'Hanlon and his family. Life has a way of shifting in an instant—often when we least expect it. My journey with kidney cancer began not with pain or alarming symptoms, but with something far more routine: my annual…