It’s been a year

It was a year ago this past weekend that I had blood in my urine and intense pain in the region of my left kidney. Fortunately I bothered to mention it to my GP when I saw him a bit more than a week later and he sent me for a CAT scan to see what was going on.

What the scan revealed was serious enough to warrant a phone call from the GP’s office to bring forward my appointment about the CAT scan results. There was a lump on the kidney and I was referred to a local urologist.

I told that tale in more detail soon after my surgery on 3 February this year. The operation left me with one kidney and a long scar down my middle. That one night of pain a year ago was early enough in the progress of my tumour that it was still encapsulated and the surgery removed that lot.

A PET scan in July confirmed that there was no trace of active cancer and so no need for chemotherapy or other measures beyond the bladder surveillance every three months. I’ve had bladder inspections in June and September and another lined up for early December.

Physically I’m back to essentially the same level of fitness as before. I’m walking 5 km on 4 mornings most weeks and getting extra exercise chasing birds.

At least to this point I have been extremely fortunate with my cancer. It’s an anniversary worth noting.