"I was diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2005.

The kidney was removed using ‘keyhole’ surgery and I have made a speedy recovery.

The reason I am writing is that my consultant, Tom Liston at Worthing Hospital, informed me that he'd never had a tumour ‘presented’ to him in the way mine was.

It was in May 2005 that I experienced an unexpected and excruciating abdominal pain. To cut a long story short, this was a kidney stone. The X-rays made while diagnosing that,
showed a ‘shadow’ on one kidney. The following ultrasound, CT scans and kidney function tests finally suggested a tumour. The kidney was removed on the 19 October 2005. The histology report confirmed that the tumour was malignant and had been fully ‘excised’.

Apart from the pain of the renal colic, the only symptom I experienced was occasional discoloured urine. Initially it was a dark brown (not yellow) and as the date of the operation drew nearer, red. There was no further pain and it would have been easy to ignore the discoloured urine.

I'm lucky that the ‘calcification’ in the kidney, surrounding the tumour, caused the renal colic. That was my 'early warning'.

The consultant tells me I could live to be 99. That's great news, as I've bought and learned to ride a motorbike. Something I've been intending to do for years.

Good fortune with the charity,"

Paul
West Sussex