I met with my urologist earlier this week to discuss the next steps. Since we  now know that the cancer hasn't spread, we were able to determine that we are talking about a confined/contained RCC, and not another type of cancer. Therefore, the doctor suggested a laparoscopic surgery in order to remove the entire kidney, called nephrectomy. He then explained the procedure, not sparing any graphic details. Three cuts will be needed. An incision right above my belly-button and just wide enough to stick his hand in there (ouch...I told you he didn't spare the gory stuff..-;)..). Further to that, two small round entries will be required on both sides of my abdomen - one for a camera and the other one for a tube that pumps some sort of gas into the area, in order to prevent the organs from falling on top of each other. He will then cut out the kidney, zip everything back up and stitch me back together once done. I suppose they will put me under anesthesia for that...just kidding!

The surgery date is November 11. I don't have to come in the night before, I can just show up on that day. They will operate on me and then keep me there over night. If things go well, I will be discharged the next day. Otherwise, they will just keep me in there for another night or two. Once I'm back home, I have to rest for 2-3 weeks in order to fully recover. I actually heard of folks who went trough that and got back to work a week later. Well, that's my plan too, however, I will probably start working from home first. Modern technology, a laptop with wireless access to my office can be a huge pain in the butt under normal circumstances, but in that case, it's a blessing.

In the meantime the typical pre-surgery stuff needs to get done. Testing, mapping and more testing. Well, I guess I have enough time for all that. I'm relatively relaxed at the moment, but I'm sure this will change as the date comes closer.