Kidney Cancer Information

Can you live with one kidney? Yes, you can, at least I am living with one kidney only.

Before I tell you my story and how I manage my life after my left kidney was removed because of cancer, let me make one thing very clear: there is a whole variety of reasons why people will have to learn with one kidney, such as a kidney transplant or kidney cancer for example. It all depends on your specific situation how you either need to or want to change your life after you lost one kidney. What you are going to read is my story and what I feel very comfortable with might sound strange, unbearable or whatever to you. Do whatever you think is the right thing to do, or of course, whatever is medically necessary to live your life with one kidney.

So, here is what happened to me in a nutshell. It all started with a weird kind of pain in both flanks of my lower back. And ‘weird’ meaning, I knew it wasn’t muscular even though around that time I had been doing some heavy duty work outside on our patio which required me to do strenuous physical tasks I wasn’t used to. But that pain was very different from soreness or a pinched nerve. Anyway, I decided to ignore it. Not a good idea! A few days later I urinated bood. Another few days later, there were also clots of tissue among the blood. Time to see an urologist. Long story short, my left kidney was in the process of dissolving. It was completely eaten alive by a large 7 cm tumor which has been feasting on my organ for 20 years according to the pathology. I was lucky, the renal cell carcinoma had not yet spread outside the organ but was entirely confined to my left kidney. A few months later, it was removed via a radical laparoscopic nephrectomy. That was on November 30 of 2009.

And ever since I’ve been living with one kidney. Right after the surgery it was tough, I must admit. I was actually discharged one day after the surgery. That was a stretch. I remember my wife driving me home from New York Presbyterian/Columbia University over the George Washington Bridge back to New Jersey. The pain medication began to wear off and I wasn’t miserable. But a few days later things got better. I was off work for a whole month which gave me enough time to recover.

According to my oncologist, the only thing I need to make sure is to stay hydrated. He also told me to stay away from excess amounts of potassium (which is found in larger concentrations in some foods, such as bananas for instance). But I was surprised when he told me that other than that I am free to eat or drink whatever I want to.

I personally decided to go a step further by switching to a primarily whole food plant based diet and by cutting out processed foods to the extent possible. This change in lifestyle resulted in me feeling better than ever before.
The only thing I noticed is that I sometimes get very tired without a warning. Not that I would fall asleep on the spot – I just get tired. Other than that, my life with only one kidney is as normal as it was before.

Send me an email if you have specific questions regarding how it is living with one kidney, kidney cancer, etc. and I’d be more than happy to share my experience with me.

Picture of me after my kidney cancer surgery: