Maritza Job Giordano’s Kidney Cancer Story

This is a guest post by Maritza Job Giordano, 37. Maritza was diagnosed with stage 2 renal cell carcinoma in 2023. She lives in Colorado with her husband and two children.

On the evening of August 30, 2023, my life changed drastically. I picked up a stomach bug and quickly became ill. Ultimately, I became so dehydrated that I ended up going to the ER at my husband and mom’s advice. My mom drove me and my husband Jeff stayed home with our son and daughter. As I’d had a C-section 5 months prior delivering my daughter, when I mentioned abdominal pain, the doctor suggested scanning my abdomen to check for infection and to make sure everything looked ok with my incision. I thought it was a bit dramatic but agreed.

Shortly after, the doctor came into the room and began to ask me very specific questions. Did I have blood in my urine, did I have any lower back pain. I answered no to both, and then asked if everything was ok with my scan. His face became serious as he said no, the scan wasn’t “ok”. He told me that there was a 6.5 cm mass on my left kidney.

I remember asking “is that big?” And he said “bigger than a baseball”. He explained it’s concerning for cancer. The doctor gave me the number of an oncologist and advised me to call the next morning.

I called my husband and dad and knew that in delivering that news, I had just shattered their worlds. “Am I dying?” I thought to myself the entire drive home.

I couldn’t help but think of my babies who were 5 months and 2 years old. They needed a mom. I needed them. We had grown our family in such a short time and I’d been perfectly healthy. My babies were healthy. How could I have cancer? It didn’t make sense and it didn’t seem fair. My daughter had been baptized just 2 months prior in June. Her baptism date fell on Father’s Day and we knew it would be difficult for some people to make it, but I felt this unexplainable urgency to have her baptized.

Fast forward to driving home from the ER after being told you have a tumor in your kidney bigger than a baseball and it’s probably cancer. I remember feeling so scared for them. Scared they wouldn’t have a mom. And then a voice in my head said “you gave your babies to Jesus”. And I had. I had baptized my babies and actually turned them over to the lord. I wanted to be here with them, and I knew I’d fight to be here, to mother them and to raise them. But if I’m not, God will provide them with all that they need. As much of a pill as that was to swallow, it gave me a tremendous amount of peace. It was like as soon as I began to panic, Jesus said “I won’t leave you and I won’t leave them” – my faith was stronger than my fear.

Once we got back home, the rest of the night was spent crying and praying with my mom and husband. The next morning after calling the oncologist, they were able to squeeze me in that same day. My husband kept reassuring me on the drive there, “we don’t know if it cancer” we knew we’d have to wait for a defined answer. However, we didn’t have to wait long.

We met with Dr Suzanne Merrille (an actual angel on earth) and she told us that she was confident it was cancer. There was no reason for a biopsy, and she stated that in the event it was benign, it was large and disruptive enough that it needed to be removed regardless. I was quickly prescribed more scans and soon after I had a surgery date. October 11, 2023, a partial nephrectomy. During a 4-hour surgery, a 7 cm tumor removed from my kidney and the remaining portion of the kidney was reconstructed.

I remember closing my eyes as the anesthesia hit me, being wheeled away from a pre-op room as my husband, mom, and dad walking out to the waiting area.

While recovering in the hospital for a few days, husband and family alternated keeping me company and being with our kids at home.

I thought getting through surgery would bring me some sense of peace, like, ok, the biggest part is done and now we await pathology results to identify the stage of the cancer and determine if I needed more treatment, like immunotherapy.

However, infection, fevers, and urine leaking from my kidney, a rare complication that resulted in a lower back drain as well as a catheter, required extra treatment and healing. I was restricted from lifting and doing activity for an extended period of time. I wasn’t able to pick up my children, especially with the risk of them – by then 2 years old and 9 months old – pulling at my drain or catheter.

My last procedure was in January 2024, the removal of a stent. At this point I thought I’d feel “back to normal”. But in reality, I was a shell of the person I’d been pre-cancer. I felt a heavy psychological whiplash of what I’d been through in the months prior. From an unexpected diagnosis to surgery, and then a long recovery with complications.

What weighed most heavily on me – I felt inadequate as a mother and wife because my children and husband hadn’t been able to rely on me for 3 months. Even more difficult than the physical recovery, was mothering with wide open arms. Watching my babies be carried, fed, changed, and being taken care of by everyone else other than me was the most helpless I have ever felt.

I knew this meant they’re loved, and that I’m loved, because we had so many people open their hearts to our family. I’m so thankful for every meal provided to my babies, every diaper changed, and all of the love their received, etc. And ultimately, I knew I had to get better to be able to be there for then again.

This is the hardest part to reflect on and share. Because as a mom and wife, I want to do as much as I can for my family. And for 3 months, which felt like an eternity, I couldn’t. And on top of not being able care for my family, I was the one needing care.

The most reassuring for me was knowing my husband is a good dad, and he really carried the weight. And our family and friends who provided us with love, support, childcare and meals. My medical team also gave me confidence in my recovery. I can’t even begin to explain the gratitude I have for my surgeon and doctor. She was kind, compassionate, knowledgeable and helped me navigate every aspect of my recover and many complications.

And of course, my faith. The most reassuring of all. My maiden name is Job, a biblical story of suffering and a faithful God. Jesus was walking alongside me and my family through this journey, and continues to do so.

Knowing now and living with the reality that cancer can come back is something I struggle with. I am trying to focus on the things I can control such as my diet and continuing strong communication with my medical team in addition to adding a mental health professional to the mix. I have been seeing a therapist that focuses on trauma and death – two things that are more on my radar than they were before. I’m now 7 months post-surgery and life is starting to feel somewhat back to how it was before diagnosis.