For danf....Because you asked! →[More:]Thank you for asking about Mr. V. I appreciate it more than I can say. I guess I've been lax in keeping people updated (sorry MeChas!)
Brief synopsis: In December, Mr. V was diagnosed with Renal Cell Carcinoma. They removed his right kidney/tumor and a piece on his right lung where it metastacized. He is considered a Stage 4.

He is on a drug called Sutent. We call it chemo, though it's a bit different. It's actually a TMT- Targeted Molecular Therapy. It's designed to keep tumors from getting blood supply, and hopefully kill them off. He takes one pill a day for four weeks, then two weeks off, then the cycle repeats again. He's on his second series.

The side effects are much like chemo: fatigue, heartburn, taste changes, hand/foot disorder, mouth ulcers, loss of appetite, etc. He's had most of them. The symptoms worsen as the weeks go on, but go away during the two weeks off.

He's still able to work, amazingly enough. He takes his pill around noon, so many of the side effects don't hit until evening, so he's able to stick to most of his routine. Oh, and it causes hair color changes, which is hard for him (he's a bit vain!) His goatee is getting white, though it really looks blonde to me. His eyelashes are definitely blonde.

In about two weeks he'll go for his first scan since surgery. Hopefully, nothing will show up. He'll go for scans at three month intervals for the first year, six month intervals the second year (barring any discoveries), and yearly after that.

Thank you again for asking. Sometimes I guess we get so used to plugging along, that it feels "normal", if that makes any sense. People will ask how he's doing, and it's more of an answer to say "Not as bad as last time."