Brandy Verdin’s Kidney Cancer Story

This is a guest post by Brandy Verdin, who was diagnosed with stage 4 renal cell carcinoma on May 1, 2023. She is based in Gray, Louisiana.

I did everything I was supposed to do to live disease-free. Or at least I thought I had.

My name is Brandy Verdin and I am a retired personal trainer and fitness nutrition specialist. Eliminating processed foods, weightlifting, and cardio fitness activities five days per week and using nontoxic house chemicals and detergents gave me a false sense of security concerning my health. On April 1st, 2023, I went to a local urgent care facility because I noticed blood in my urine. The physician suggested I might have diabetes because I was negative for a urinary tract infection. I knew I did not have diabetes, so I waited a few days, then scheduled an appointment with my general practitioner. While at the appointment with the GP, I suggested to her the idea that I could have a parasite. She told me she didn’t suspect a parasite but suspected bladder cancer, so she referred me to a urologist. In the meantime, while waiting for my urology appointment, I saw a holistic physician, and she ordered a stool test that confirmed I did have a parasite. We held off treatment for the parasite until I saw the urologist. The urologist told me he suspected I had kidney cancer, and he assured me that it was treatable. I believe he was so confident in his claim because, although I was forty-seven years old, I looked like a portrait of health. However, my lean, chiseled physique was not an accurate picture of my health.

On May 1, 2023, I had a CT scan and lab work. The scan revealed a 14.4 x 11 x 10 cm tumor on my left kidney and metastasis to both lungs. Also, according to the labs, my hemoglobin was 7.5 g/dL (the normal range for women is 12 to 16 g/dL), therefore I was considered anemic. The urologist told me he had to send me to New Orleans to Oschner MD Anderson where he had a friend who is an oncology urology surgeon who could possibly help me. The urologist looked defeated, and my husband cried. I, on the other hand, knew the only thing I could do was trust God with my life and my wellbeing.  

Within a few days, I met with the surgeon and a medical oncologist. The tumor board met to discuss if I was well enough to have surgery two weeks after my diagnosis. Not only did the tumor board decline my surgery, but I was hospitalized because my hemoglobin dipped to 5.4 g/dL, which is extremely low. 

I began a regimen of Keytruda (pembrolizumab) and Inlyta (axitinib) in June 2023, after my diagnosis. In October 2023, it was determined that the treatment was not working because I developed a tumor right below my urethra. The metastasis was surgically removed in mid-October, and then I started taking Cabometyx (cabozantinib) 60 mg. Ten days later, my dosage was reduced to 40 mg due to burns to my tongue. In January 2024, a CT scan showed signs of improvement, and then my April 2024 scan determined the tumor was contained and there was no further metastasis; therefore, I was a candidate for surgery to remove the tumor. 

On May 15, 2024, the surgeon surgically removed the kidney tumor (it weighed 15 pounds), my left adrenal gland, 8 lymph nodes, and the part of the tumor that invaded my inferior vena cava. On that day, I also had a total hysterectomy. Three weeks after surgery, the oncologist ordered a CT scan, and it showed I had a 3 mm growth on one lung that grew to 9 mm in the time between when I stopped treatment to have surgery and post-op. I started Cabometyx four weeks post-op, and I am currently 11 weeks post-op. 

I returned to the gym 8 weeks after surgery, and I am able to weightlift again. I am also enjoying rebuilding my cardiorespiratory system by swimming laps in the indoor Olympic pool at my gym. My hope is that my story inspires others who are diagnosed to never surrender, stay strong in their faith, and know there is hope.