Friends of mine who haven’t seen me in a while tell me they keep up with my family and me through this column.
My life is pretty much an open book, you know.
So, here’s the latest: I have a date soon with a handsome doctor and a robot named da Vinci. I have a tumor on my kidney. It’s weird to see those words in print.
I went to get an ultrasound for something else, and the radiologist noticed the tumor on my kidney. I went back for a CT scan, which shows it even better. I talked to two wonderful doctors, each with a different approach to treating this. One called me “petite,” and he almost got the job just because of that. When he showed me the scan, I could have sworn it looked like there was a baby in there, but apparently, it was all my other organs. There is a skill to reading those things.
Also, I didn’t pay attention in anatomy class — I thought the kidneys were much lower than they are.
I would trust either doctor, but I’m going with a partial nephrectomy, “the gold standard,” my doctor said, instead of cryotherapy, which is freezing the tumor.
My brother’s mother-in-law, who had kidney cancer a few years ago, had this same surgeon that I’m going to, and she loves him and highly recommends him. She’s already given me a lot of great advice, having been there, done that.
Plus, he was my husband’s fraternity brother 35 years ago at Arkansas State University. He apparently was pretty much perfect even then. In addition to being smart, he was the quarterback for the football team. He and my husband, who hadn’t seen each other in years, made a plan during my appointment to play in a charity golf tournament. My husband said that made it worth the trip.
Both doctors I’ve seen told me the tumor is probably cancer — there’s an 80-85 percent chance. Being a glass-half-empty girl, I’m going to go with that. But the tumor is small, 2.5 centimeters, so we caught it early.
I immediately felt guilty — it’s hard-wired with the women in my family — and thought about all the diet drinks I’ve had in my life. The doctor said it was nothing I did (but really, how can we know that?), but I gave up diet soda months ago.
Through the years, I’ve done several stories on kidney transplants that people have undergone — and people who are on waiting lists — including two brave River Valley men I talked to this week, who have much more serious conditions than I do. Stories like that mean something more to me now. My sweet daughter-in-law immediately told me she’d give me a kidney, which I appreciate, but don’t need. My mother and husband offered, too.
My brother is clearing his schedule to be here for my surgery, which is greatly comforting to me. He’s an ear, nose and throat guy, but he knows the ins and outs of the medical world and the right questions to ask. Plus, he’s a lot of fun.
My mother is coming to “take care” of me. She is the cleaning queen, so that will be great. My husband is the cook. I think I’ll be in pretty good hands. In fact, when I told the woman who scheduled my surgery about my great family, she asked if she could come stay with me.
My husband’s family is being extremely supportive, too, so I feel lucky. My father-in-law sent me one of the sweetest letters I’ve ever gotten in my life to share his concern.
And, I know I’ll have a lot of prayers and good thoughts from many of you.
I’ll let you know how it all turns out.
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.