Patient Stories

Keith's Cause is Small but Mighty

Patient Stories

This is a guest post by Nicole Scott, whose husband Keith is diagnosed with kidney cancer. Together, they organize “Keith’s Cause” to raise awareness about kidney cancer where they live in Ohio. Keith Scott My name is Nicole Scott and my husband's name is Keith Scott. We live in a small rural town just south of Columbus, Ohio called Circleville.…

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Faith, Family, Friends - That is the motto in Mariah Jeske’s life

Patient Stories

This is a guest post by Mariah Jeske, 28, who has a family history of kidney cancer and Birt-Hogg-Dube Syndrome. She lives in Wisconsin. My family leaned on our faith, the support of family and friends, and the support of each other when we found out my dad, Dean Jeske, was diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2012. Dad was a…

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Michele Tate on Uterine Fibroids as a Biomarker for HLRCC

Patient Stories

This is a guest post by Michele Tate. She is diagnosed with HLRCC and advocates for greater awareness and research into this rare genetic condition.   As we celebrate 2024 Black History Month and Rare Disease Day, I’d like to share my story and stress the need for early detection by screening all young women, regardless of race, who present…

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The Joys that Cancer Can't Rob

Patient Stories

This is a guest post by Brandon Butera, a stage IV kidney cancer patient and advocate. He lives with his wife, Maggie Valdes, in Houston, Texas. Watch more of their journey. https://youtu.be/NDQOghLQdPs When we last gave an update to the KCA in November, Maggie and I were recovering from some difficult news: CT scans showed that my cancer was progressing…

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Mallory Foxx survived kidney cancer and won Mrs. Black International Ambassador

Patient Stories

This is a guest post by Mallory Foxx, kidney cancer survivor and the 2023 Mrs. Black International Ambassador. Mallory Foxx at her nephrectomy. On April 15, 2023, I heard the words that would change my life: “Mallory, you have cancer.” I was shocked. Me? Cancer? What? I was in disbelief to say the least. I was scared, I felt a…

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September 22, 2023: The Day My Life Changed

Patient Stories

This is a guest post by Nicole Yvette Miles, kidney cancer survivor. My name is Nicole Miles from Waldorf, Maryland and on September 22, 2023 around 11 pm after a typically normal Friday, I started experiencing a pain in my stomach which from there I started experiencing a pain on my right side and this is the night my life…

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What Palliative Care Is and Isn't

KCA, Patient Stories, Research

This is a guest post by D'Ann George, PhD, Medical Writer. Joel Stern vividly remembers the first time he saw the phrase palliative care in his medical file. At the time, in 2020, Stern had just been diagnosed with stage IV renal-cell carcinoma. “I thought it was the equivalent of hospice, which I knew wasn’t something I wanted to see…

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Carrie Mann's kidney cancer journey

Patient Stories

This is a guest post by Carrie Mann, 48, a stage 4 kidney cancer patient from West Virginia. Carrie Mann with her husband Derek, younger daughter Myla, older daughter Callie, and Callie's husband Dakota, at Callie's wedding in October 2024. My name is Carrie Mann. I am a 48-year-old mother of two from southern West Virginia, a county with not…

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Excerpts from my book, One Kidney: Dealing with Kidney Cancer

Patient Stories

This is a guest post by Jeff Kallis, who was diagnosed with stage 3 clear cell renal cell carcinoma in 2023. Jeff has since written a book about his experience, One Kidney: Dealing with Kidney Cancer. Jeff lives in Rochester, Minnesota. (Header photo: Cindy and Jeff Kallis. Wedding photography by Joshua Becker.) Jeff Kallis wrote One Kidney: Dealing with Kidney…

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Hope and Fear

Patient Stories

This is a guest post by Joel Stern, member of the KCA's Board of Directors, author of "My Journey With Stage IV Renal Cell Carcinoma", and serves as a peer mentor with KCA partner Imerman Angels. Stern was diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2020. HOPE “Don't lose hope. When the sun goes down, the stars come out” – Not Me…

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