Patient Stories

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 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…

This is a guest post by Catherine Yutmeyer, a patient advocate diagnosed with stage 4 chromophobe renal cell carcinoma. Catherine attended the Kidney Cancer Association's 2025 International Kidney Cancer Symposium (IKCS): North America, held in Denver, Colorado on November 13-15. She shared her insights, takeaways, and overall experience at the meeting. Five years ago, I was diagnosed with stage IV…

This is a guest post by Tom Green, 60, who was diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer in 2015. He is currently a business owner, a new student at McDaniel College in Maryland, and a member of the McDaniel Green Terror football team. He lives with his family in Pennsylvania. Read a story about him at the Baltimore Sun. Up…

The Kidney Cancer Association partnered with Moffitt Cancer Center to highlight stories of resilience and hope in the face of kidney cancer. Supported by the compassionate care and leading research innovation at Moffitt, people diagnosed with kidney cancer describe their journeys through diagnosis, treatment, and beyond. Moffitt is a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center where top research and care…

This is a guest post by Peter Croes, a 78-year-old two-time renal cancer survivor who was initially diagnosed with kidney cancer in 1993. Peter is a patient at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida and lived in Lakeland, FL before moving to Dillard in the northeast mountains of Georgia in 2022. He returns to Moffitt, with Jeanie, his wife, for…

This is a guest post by David Miller, 61, a hospitality consultant and kidney cancer survivor based in Freehold, New Jersey. Growing up, my dad — Lewis Miller — was my hero. He was the person I looked up to, admired, and modeled myself after. He owned his own business, worked tirelessly, and rarely ever slowed down. He was always…

In a recent episode of the Cancer Interviews podcast, Nicole Scott — member of the Kidney Cancer Association’s Patient & Caregiver Advisory Council — shared her story of becoming a caregiver when her husband, Keith, was diagnosed with papillary renal cell carcinoma. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajztvAkUeGE&t=206s&pp=ygUibmljb2xlIHNjb3R0IHRoZSBjYW5jZXIgaW50ZXJ2aWV3cw%3D%3D Nicole and Keith worked together at the same Ohio hospital when Keith began experiencing pain in his…

In a powerful interview with The Patient Story, KCA Ambassador Jeff Kallis shared how a scan for a suspected kidney stone led to a diagnosis of stage 3, grade 3 clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). After a radical nephrectomy to remove one of his kidneys and confirmation of renal vein involvement, Jeff leaned into support from family, faith, and…