The diagnosis

I’m 36, and 3 weeks ago, I was diagnosed with an advanced kidney cancer.

It all started after Christmas with night sweats, followed by a 3kg weight loss in a single week mid-January. I was referred to the hospital by my GP, and a CT scan was scheduled for Thursday the 26th of February – just a few days after I started a dream job in one of Dublin’s most exciting tech company.

Preparing for the CT scan

Besides a bladder full of oral CT contrast, the scan was nothing unpleasant, and I was told I’ll get the results in a week or so. Yet, in the afternoon, I received an e-mail asking me to come the day after for a chat.

“It’s bad. You have a tumor. In the kidney.”

My consultant didn’t take any detour to release the diagnosis, and my wife and I agreed to see the scan: A 10cm tumor in my right kidney, some metastasis in the lungs, and a damaged lymph node. I was scared – and shocked – as I’ve never been. I exercised regularly, recently took care of my diet, but yet, I was diagnosed with cancer.

I knew my life would be different from this day on. After a few days crying and being 6-feet-under, I was determined to face this with a positive attitude, together with my wife, kids, family, and friends – who have all been incredibly supportive since they’ve learnt about it.

More recently, I’ve decided to share my thoughts and experience through these notes. I have lots of people to talk to about my fears, hopes, and more; but I believe that putting this in writing will help me to take some more perspective about what I’m going through.