Cancer Does not Define US!

RMC, is an extremely rare kidney cancer that targets those that carry the sickle cell trait.   It was discovered around 1995 and has no known cure.   Because of the slight symptoms most don’t realize that there is something wrong until there is blood in their urine.  This means that we are in the late stages (4) and prognosis is 3 months without treatment and 12 months even with the most aggressive therapies.   

The symptoms are as such:

• Lethargy

• Unintentional weight loss

• Back pain (particularly on the right side) the cancer starts almost always in the right kidney and does not affect the left.

• Blood in urine.

It seems that there a predisposition to those who have sickle cell trait.  We know that sickle cell trait affects predominately black and brown people.  African American, Indian, Middle Easterners etc.  Renal Medullary Carcinoma is a rare kidney cancer. It accounts for about 1% of all kidney cancers and is highly aggressive. About 90% of those diagnosed with this kind of cancer have the sickle cell trait, sickle cell disease or some form of blood disorder. It also is affects males more often and ages seem to be 18-35 years.     I am not a medical professional this information that i have learned while going on this journey.

Most are diagnosed at stage 4 and it is almost always fatal.  There is no standard treatment plan for this cancer.  Renal Medullary Carcinoma is extremely aggressive and spreads quickly. At the beginning of Seth’s journey, he had cancer in his right kidney, both lungs and lymph nodes.  By the end the disease had spread to his stomach and liver.  Remember he received treatment the entire time, including multiple chemotherapies.     He also had the right kidney removed and this was still the result.  We must irradicate this disease!

More information can be found at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4052598/

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