Debbie Hit's Story

What were the steps leading up to your diagnosis?

Both my husband and I had nephrectomies. We both had an appointment for an ultrasound while looking for different health problems. My husband had no symptoms, but I had right flank pain for a year.

In 2013 the urologist removed his kidney. The tumor was the size of a football. When it was my turn to go under the knife in 2014, I had my kidney removed and the tumor was the size of a lemon.

So far I'm cancer free. This entire experience took a lot out of us. We haven't been the same since. You appreciate life.

What lifestyle changes have you needed to make?

The biggest lifestyle changes we had to make was more regular check ups and drinking lots of water – so much water.

Who has been there for you? How?

We were there for each other during the whole process. We also had a very caring urologist during this tough time.

What accomplishment are you proud of?

We've both lost weight.

What's your advice to someone else living with kidney cancer?

Every diagnosis is different. Every operation is different. Every outcome is not always good.

Is there anything else we should know?

We don't know what caused our renal cell carcinoma. We have health problems that could have contributed to it, but we just don't really know.