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This is a guest post by Amanda Reitz, a mother of three children who were 13, 9, and 5 years old when she was diagnosed with kidney cancer. Amanda is also a newly graduated nurse and wife. My cancer journey started in December 2021 when I went to my primary care physician (PCP) for a regular checkup and medication refills.…

This is a guest post by Christopher 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.…

This is a guest post by Kieran Smith, 55, a musician based in northern California. Late last year, a gallstone blocked a duct in my gallbladder, and I went to the ER. After an hour or two, with the help of an IV, the stone dislodged itself and I felt better. The ER staff was going to release me, but…

This story an excerpt from a blog post at City of Hope Orange County in California. Read Marcelo Vine's full story at City of Hope. Photo courtesy of Marcelo Vine. When you hear Marcelo Vine talk about his passions — flying the experimental plane he built himself, winning national car races in his Porsche 944 — it’s hard to imagine…

This is a guest post by Amy Homnick whose husband Brian Travalja has stage 3 renal cell carcinoma. This story originally appeared on Amy’s Instagram page in celebration of Brian being 1-year cancer-free. I still get goosebumps thinking back to September 20th, 2022. It is the day our lives changed forever. My husband Brian called me at 4:42pm to tell me the…

This is a guest post by Reagan Inglee, 20, whose father, Clinton Griffin Inglee, died of kidney cancer in 2019. Growing up, I had a bond with my dad like no other. I was the definition of a "daddy's girl", and I was proud to hold that title. I was my dad's only daughter, so I was always termed his…

The 2024 International Kidney Cancer Symposium (IKCS): Europe, taking place in Sitges, Spain on April 18-20 will feature three special awards - including the keynote lecture - for prominent experts in kidney cancer. Register now. Dr. Bernard Escudier Dr. Bernard Escudier is the former chair of the genitourinary group of the Institut Gustave Roussy in Villejuif, France. He will receive…

The Ferrell Foundation, an Austin, Texas-based cancer support non-profit, donated $10,000 to support the Kidney Cancer Association’s (KCA) Patient Assistance Fund (PAF). https://www.www.kidneycancer.org/stories/spotlight-john-ferrell/ The PAF offers patients and families no-strings attached grants to relieve the financial burdens that accompany a kidney cancer diagnosis including treatment costs, transportation, and lodging. As the most common query among those who contact the KCA’s…

This is a guest post by Teri Brown-Walker, a KCA Ambassador and a renal cell carcinoma survivor. In 2021 I was diagnosed with two cysts on my left kidney and was told it was filled with fluid. I was told back then that the cyst was so small and not to be too concerned. However, I was given options to…

The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) in Boston, Massachusetts recently recognized the Kidney Cancer Association (KCA) for supporting researchers at the institution with over $1 million in funding. KCA’s name was placed on the DFCI’s Benefactors Wall, located on the third floor of the DFCI's Yawkey Center for Cancer Care. “We are so pleased to honor KCA’s tremendous support of kidney…