Renal Cell Kidney Removed Fatigue

ihad my left kidney removed 3 years ago with radiation then part of right removed in 2004 i am always so tired never have the energy to do any thing it was renal cell kidney cancer i also have thyroid problem but under control with medicine. Ever 4 month they do scans to see if cancer is back have been doing for 3 years but the dr's never seem concerned and family says i should be happy to be alive which is true but not much life when you can't do any thing thinks for listening any one have same problem would like advice thanks

what is your TSH? what is your BUN/creatinine? what is your ESR? maybe you are anemic, what is your hemoglobin/hematocrit? any lymph node enlargement in your neck, groin, armpits? is your skin yellowish? what is your bilirubin? bowel habits normal? stools normal color or are they black and tarry? any rashes? any nausea?

if you can get a copy of you last few bloodworks and list what was done and of all that was done list the values for just the ones that were abnormal, that might help.

depression can cause fatigue, and everyone is quick to call things depression when a person has a history of cancer. but perhaps before calling it depression someone should actually do a work up on you for fatigue to rule out treatable causes. (the best people to work you up for it would be your primary care doctor and/or your oncologist. don't put too much faith in advice you get from people you have never met, especially me, over a message board).

anyone have any other thoughts? opinions always welcome.

just my two cents,
-Amnia

I hope that you are seeing a doctor who has experience in treating renal cell carcinoma; many do not because RCC is relatively rare, and resistant to conventional chemotherapy and radiation. It is even more rare to have RCC in both kidneys, which can be (not always) a sign of genetic RCC in your family. If you have a type of renal cell carcinoma other than the most common clear cell type (get a copy of your pathology report) it is even more critical to have a doctor with experience in treating rare forms of RCC. You can find a doctor near you with experience in treating kidney cancer by calling the Kidney Cancer Association at 800-850-9132 in the USA. You should know that some very good doctors are not on their list.

There is an email support group specific to kidney cancer. See http://cancerguide.org/kofaq/ for more information.

See http://cancerguide.org/kidney.html for more information about kidney cancer.