Pathology Report

We got the initial pathology report from Dr. Chung that confirmed that we are indeed dealing with renal cell carcinoma (RCC or kidney cancer).  One interesting note was that the tumor actually ended up being 9.5 cm with a secondary tumor that was 1.5 cm.  The pathology report confirmed however that the tumor and kidney were removed with clean margins and no signs of having spread to the surrounding tissue.  Since it has presumably spread to the lungs however, this likely won't change the need for a systemic treatment for the cancer.

The good news, (if it can be considered that...haha) is that it appears to be clear cell RCC, which is the most common type (85% of all RCC) and thus has been the subject of the most studies etc... We have a meeting with our oncologist Dr Srinivas scheduled for next week, when Greg will also see Dr. Chung for his surgery follow-up.

Some have expressed interest in seeing the visible results of the surgery so I thought that at the risk of offending those with delicate sensibilities, I would post a few photos.  I apologize to those who would have preferred to use their imagination.  The first was taken right after surgery, the second this morning.

It doesn't look all that different; I thought that it looked amazing the very first day.  They stitch internally but then glue the incisions closed, so right from the beginning they appeared to be quite healed and with no bandages.

Greg is moving around better each day.  He probably walks around too much for optimal healing and I know that he laughs way too much.  One other interesting note is that he has stopped coughing since the surgery.  Those of you that were around him the last few weeks know what I am talking about.  This was a big concern with healing since coughing would be extremely painful with his incisions.  We are not sure why this has occurred but we are very grateful.  They will wait until he is completely healed to start any sort of treatment.  We should know more about what that will be after our meeting next week.

We can't express enough how much the outpouring of love and support from all of you has meant to our family.  We feel so blessed in our family and friends.