April 2011: Jay Hyman

Featured and Written By:
Jay Hyman

My name is Jay Hyman, AKA Itsdaplumber on the KCA message board.

I wanted to tell people about my experiences having kidney cancer and the things that have helped me through the last six years.

In early February 2005, I experienced one small episode of a bloody urine that I mistook for a urinary tract infection. Being that it was only a one time thing, I didn't think anything of it.  At the end of February, I was out to eat with my family and another episode of blood in my urine made me realize that something serious was going on. I called a urologist who agreed to see me. Upon performing several tests, I was told that there was a large mass on my left kidney. This doctor had no compassion at all and shuffled us out of the room through a back door so we wouldn't upset the other patients in the waiting room. They need to make a course in patient/ doctor relations a requirement to get your degree. Anyway, a mass was detected in my lung and I was referred to Fox Chase Cancer Center in Montgomery County, PA.

Dr. Uzzo saw me right away and two days later I had a nephrectomy of my left kidney. Two months later, I was put on Sutent through a clinical study.  I have been on Sutent for 53 cycles and am am currently NED (no evidence of disease). I made it through this process with the help of God, my family and the power of positive thinking. 

It is so important that you keep a positive attitude because anything is possible. I own a plumbing company in Philadelphia, and am enjoying a good, healthy life. I wish I could meet the team at Phizer that created Sutent to thank them personally for saving my life. I'll continue offering support to anyone that needs positive energy in their lives to help them get through their struggles with RCC. 

Jay Hyman