Happy Kidney-versary! Today is the third anniversary of my life changing kidney transplant. I was blessed with a receive an anonymously donated healthy kidney. I was three months away from aging out the program at my transplant center when I got the call. I couldn’t believe this was happening to me.
The day after the transplant I woke and immediately knew my life had changed. I knew my job was to protect and keeps the gift I had received healthy and safe. I immediately said a prayer and thanked the person for their unselfish sacrifice and vowed to pray for then and never forget what they had done for me. I wrote to that person but never received a response. To this day my thoughts and prayers are with the donor.
The kidney continues to work beautifully. My numbers continue to be consistently stable and I continue to do my part to ensure things work as expected. I exercise regularly, follow my renal diet, and for the most part listen to my care team. However, despite my best efforts I have had small setback.
About a year ago I started feeling a little nauseous at various times during the day. Long story short, I was able to link the nausea to times when I was hungry. As soon as I ate the nausea would go away.
I mentioned to my transplant coordinator and we tried adjusting my meds but no change. In fact things got worse for awhile. I also saw my gastroenterologist and we also tried things, but nothing helped. Finally, I requested a colonoscopy and endoscopy just to make sure there were no issues internally. My father died from stomach cancer at age 56.
The colonoscopy was clean. The endoscopy did not find any issues with my stomach. They did find an inflamed area in my esophagus. It was Adenocarcinoma, cancer of the lower third of the esophagus. A second endoscopy with ultrasound failed to find the cancer and a pet scan also did not show cancer anywhere.
The oncology team in my hometown referred me to Johns Hopkins (JH) cancer center in Baltimore where I have been since Feb. 6. It was confirmed at JH that there is a small area in my esophagus that needs treatment. Fortunately, it was found early so surgery will not be required. I was referred to JH because if surgery was required, I need to be at a facility that had both a transplant team and a thoracic surgeon.
Other than the nausea I have not felt sick at anytime. I feel fine, except for the days following the chemo. If it hadn’t been for that feeling of nausea who knows what would’ve happened long term. BTW the feeling of nausea had nothing to do with the cancer.
I’ve been in Baltimore since Feb. 6. I’m scheduled to leave on March 17. I will receive radiation five days a week for a total of twenty eight treatments. The radiation sessions are only fifteen minutes long. I have had no symptoms or reactions to the radiation treatments
I also receive weekly chemo treatments. Each chemo session is two and a half hours long. I receive four pre chemo meds to prevent reactions to the two chemo meds cocktail I receive. It takes about two days to comedown from the chemo meds. Reactions to the chemo are mostly fatigue, joint pain and mild a stomach ache.
Thanks to the American Cancer Society (ACS) my wife and I are staying at an ACS Hope Lodge in Baltimore. Cancer patients at the many cancer treatment centers around the country are eligible to stay at ACS locations for free.
Please pay attention to your body. Our bodies are always telling us something. My apologies for the lengthy message.
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