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In this Powerful Patient conversation our team talks to Ann and Chris, two women survivors of Renal Cell Carcinoma (Kidney Cancer). Unlike most of our guests they are not engaged with cancer advocacy on a national or regional scale. They are very similar to most persons who receive and then strive to live with a diagnosis of cancer.
In this conversation we will look at their efforts to deal with their medical situations and attempt to maintain a sense of normalcy in their everyday life. Chris lives on the North Carolina Coast, was diagnosed almost three years ago, and in addition to surgery is on her fourth different type of treatment for metastatic disease. She is thankful for the support of her family and friends in this journey and the simple things in life have become more important to her since her diagnosis. Her doctor is a specialist in kidney cancer and is located over three hours from her home. She receives a lot of information from other persons dealing with this cancer through an online moderated support group.
Ann was diagnosed in July 2014, was treated with two different therapies as well as surgery and has been under observation only (“watchful waiting”) for almost two years. Like Chris, Ann is being cared for by a specialist in kidney cancer some 90 minutes from her home. Ann regularly participates in an in-person monthly support group at the cancer center where her doctor is located and visits an online moderated support group on a regular basis. Ann participates in the annual 24 Hours of Booty https://www.24foundation.org/charlotte/ her “Team Fannies For Annie” raises almost $10,000 per year for Levine Cancer Institute, Charlotte, North Carolina.
More than 4 million people (40% of the population of the state) live in counties with a population density of 250 people per square mile or less. See North Carolina Health News on the challenges of rural healthcare. There are major medical centers with expertise in kidney cancer in Charlotte (Levine) or Durham/Chapel Hill (Duke and University of North Carolina), or out of state in Nashville, Tennessee (Vanderbilt) or Charlottesville (University of Virginia). The neighboring states of South Carolina, West Virginia and Georgia do not have any such centers.
Interactive maps are available from the National Institutes of Health that show the incidence of kidney cancer in the region you select. Here is the incidence map for North Carolina.
