Danielle (Wilson) Schlarb
Hello! My name is Danielle Wilson. I am 24 years old. I have a daughter who recently turned 3 years old and she is my world! Her name is Marissa! I moved a lot as a child so I basically grew up all over the place in central ohio. I eventually ended up graduating from Utica High School in Utica, OH. It is a small village in the county. Growing up, it was mostly my mother, my siser, and I. I am currently in college at Central Ohio Technical College and I love it! I am majoring in Human Services, Social Work with a minor in Gerontology (the study of aging). I plan to go to the Mount Vernon Nazarene College to continue my degree in the summer of 2011.
There are many types of cancer that run in my family. On my mother’s side the following people have had cancer: My maternal grandpa died at age 44 from lung cancer; my maternal grandma had breast cancer and survived it; my maternal aunt is in the middle of fighting breast cancer; my sister had sebaceous carcinoma on her head and had it removed; and my mother had cancer but would not like to share details.
For myself, I have always been in and out of the doctors office my whole life with simple infections such as strep throat, UTI, bladder infections, sinus infections and other common viruses. When I was 5 years old, I had my tonsils removed. This was basically the only medical issues I had until after giving birth to my beautiful daughter in May 2007. It seems like since I had my first child and only child thus far, I have been sick. In May 2008, I had sinus surgery - very painful but very beneficial. In December 2008, I had my gallbladder removed. This surgery was not too bad.
In December 2009, I kept having some pains in my right upper adnominal that went around to the side. I made an appointment with my family physician, Dr. Brent Ogle in Mount Vernon, Ohio. I told him my symptoms and he ordered a CT Scan. He said he would get back with me later that day with the results. I received a telephone call from him a few hours later. He said I had some kidney stones and there was a mass on my right kidney. At this point, my stomach dropped and my nerves hit the roof. I was so scared! He made an appointment for me with a urologist at OSU hospital in Columbus, Ohio, scheduled the following week.
I was seen by Dr. Box in Cramblett Hall at OSU Urology Department. Dr. Box thought I just had a cyst and he thought it could be drained. So, my hopes went back up, thinking it was nothing too serious. Then, as I was walking out of the room, Dr. Box told me just to be on the safe side he wanted some blood work and an ultrasound of my kidney before I left that day. I went for the ultrasound and was told I would receive a call in a few days with the results. Later that same day, I received a call from the OSU Urology Department. I needed to return to Dr. Box's office as soon as possible. At this point, I was really nervous again. The following day, I returned to see Dr. Box and was told the mass on my right kidney was a tumor and not a cyst. He told me it was my choice to have surgery to remove the tumor. I could either have surgery right then or I could give it a few months to see if it kept growing. I told him, "Yes, get it out of there."
This was all so very scary. I had just turned 24 years old on December 28, 2009, and I was having surgery was January 29, 2010, for a kidney tumor! I could not believe this was happening to me! Dr. Box told me it is very rare for a young person to have kidney problems, especially a young female. He said most of his patients are men over the age of 40. I was so nervous before surgery. During the three week period prior to my surgery, all I kept thinking is "I do not want to die. I have to be here for my daughter. She needs her mommy." I cried myself to sleep every night.
January 29, 2010, surgery day had finally arrived! I was so nervous! When I arrived at the hospital, I was put in a pre-op room, told to undress and they got me ready for surgery. I was told I would be having laproscopic surgery which was good because this would mean a quicker recovery for me. My doctor also told me he was going to attempt to "save half of my kidney" (called a partial nephrectomy). The plans were to use the robotics machine for my surgery. I ended up being in surgery for 10 and 1/2 hours. Because the tumor was sitting on the main vein, so they ended up having to cut me open and remove my entire kidney. Instead of having a laproscopic partial nephrectomy, I ended up having an open radical nephrectomy.
When I woke up in recovery, my left leg was so sore. They told me it was because I was laying on it for 10 1/2 hours with no movement during surgery. Blood work was ordered and I was told I had some muscle deteriation in my leg. I had five incisions on my stomach. The one that hurt the worst was from the open surgery. It was so painful and probably the most painful surgery I have ever had. I was in the hospital for about a week in the James Cancer Institute. I was sent home with a walker and used it for about a month after surgery. Although the surgery did not go as planned, it went good and my incisions healed great.
While in the hospital, I received a copy of the pathology report. I was diangosed with a very rare type of kidney cancer. I had mucinous spindle cell carcinoma. My doctor said he has my file saved on his desktop so he can study it because this type of cancer is something they usually only read about not see it and treat it. He told me it was a very rare type of cancer; but, on a good note, it usually does not come back. I met with an oncologist to learn more about this type of cancer; however, he didn't seem to know too much about it either. He told me to make an appointment for a three month check up. I did but cancelled two different times. I was so scared to go in and talk to him. I was so afraid of getting bad news. Finally, last Tuesday, June 8, 2010, I made myself go see Dr. Box. He told me everything was looking good. An x-ray was done and he said if the results came back fine, then I could come back in 6 months for another check-up. The results revealed I continue to be NED - cancer free!
I don’t think being diagnosed with cancer changed my life too much. I am more aware of the need to drink more water and to do what I can to keep my one kidney healthy. It does worry me that the other kidney will go bad and I will die; but, I try not to think about it. My friends and family were very helpful to me after the surgery. Everyone just can’t believe what I went through for being so young. Now, I am just trying to look into the future, trust that I’ll be okay and that I will be here for my daughter and myself. I think my cancer diagnosis changed my mom the most. She is always worrying about what I am doing "to and with" my body and always giving me advice. She is so scared she will lose her little girl.
I have been cancer free for 4 and 1/2 months now. Thank You Lord! The only advice I can give to anyone on this kidney cancer journey is to pray that everything will be alright and have faith. Keep your head up and think positive! You can make it through this! Remember the best support you can have in this journey is your friends, family, and support groups.
Danielle Schlarb
Central Ohio
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