Patient Stories

The One-Kidney Bodybuilder

Patient Stories

This is a guest post by Annamarya Scaccia, a writer, fitness expert, and kidney cancer survivor. Follow her on Instagram @stillwellfitness. Keep up with her bodybuilding journey at her substack The One Kidney Lifting Club. “In second place, number 87.” I relax and sway to the front of the stage, the lights bright overhead. Feet planted, I move into my front…

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Through kidney cancer, figuring out how to get unstuck

Patient Stories

This is a guest post by Bonnie Davidoff, a kidney cancer patient, aunt to the most amazing nieces and nephews, and arts enthusiast based in Olympia, Washington. Bonnie Davidoff with her family on a recent visit to Epcot Center in Florida. It was Davidoff's first visit with her family in three years because of health issues and the Covid-19 pandemic.…

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Lessons learned from stage IV renal cell carcinoma

Patient Stories

This is a guest post by Joel Stern, who was diagnosed with stage IV renal cell carcinoma in 2020. This is the second in a two-part series, in which Joel discusses what he learned through his kidney cancer journey. Read part one: I have stage IV renal cell carcinoma and I’m surprisingly content After a stage IV clear cell renal…

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I have stage IV renal cell carcinoma and I'm surprisingly content

Patient Stories

This is a guest post by Joel Stern, who was diagnosed with stage 4 renal cell carcinoma in 2020. This is the first in a two-part series in which Joel discusses how to take a dire diagnosis and make the best of it. I Have Stage IV Cancer: The News No One Wants to Hear I am addicted to playing…

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After two kidney cancers, Jason felt he was saved for fatherhood

Patient Stories

This is a guest post by Jason Hinojosa, a marketing professional, new father, and kidney cancer patient based in Seattle, Washington. He is also a KCA Ambassador. It was your typical Super Bowl Sunday, people running around town in their team colors buying last-second snacks for their parties. But this particular Sunday in 2011 turned out to be a day…

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Sharing Our Cancer Journey on Social Media

Patient Stories

This is a guest post by Susan Hill, a member of the KCA's Patient & Caregiver Advisory Council and wife and caregiver of Bruce Hill. Our kidney cancer journey officially began in May 2017 when a CT scan revealed a large tumor on Bruce’s right kidney which resulted in a nephrectomy soon after. The Stage-IV renal cell carcinoma (RCC) diagnosis…

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Watching my son cope with my kidney cancer

Patient Stories

“Mama?” I hear his footsteps coming down the hall. “Mama?” He calls again. “I’m in here, baby.” I call loudly from the restroom. But there’s a wall and a door between us.  “Mama? Mama?” He didn’t hear me. I call him again, my voice now louder—a near yell.  “What? I’m in the bathroom, Kelly!” “Mama?! Mama?! MAAAAAAAAA?!” He’s now frantic,…

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A doctor’s journey with kidney cancer

Patient Stories

Dr. Quint Jardine, 66, is currently summering in North Carolina at 4,200 feet, a month into his retirement and anticipating his next round of golf. It’s a far cry from where he was in January 2018, when a surprise stage 3b clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC) diagnosis sent him straight to surgery to remove a 13 cm kidney tumor…

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Body, Interrupted

Patient Stories

I hate this body.The other day, I went through my old selfies—my pre-surgery selfies. I scrutinized every inch of the body on the screen of my phone—every dip and curve and cut and line that I spent nearly a year meticulously sculpting. I compared that body to this body—the body that is now a little bit softer and a little…

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The scars of survivorship

Patient Stories

My stomach, swollen and on fire. The incisions, healing, burn. Too much pressure, and it felt like they will rip apart. My belly, round, in a perpetual state of fullness, pregnant with remnants of fear and freedom. My stomach is forever changed. It bears old scars, from teenage years and coming-of-age depression. But now five new scars cast wide shadows…

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