Wilhms tumor, stage 2 - Cancer Message Board

MyOMy · 04-01-2004, 06:44 AM

I know somebody that was recently diagosed with Wilhms tumor, a type of kidney cancer, It was stage 2 when diagnosed. Can anybody shed anymore light on this type of cancer? This person is now getting chemo for the next 6 months. Thanks.

dlhowell998 · 04-01-2004, 12:29 PM

Wilms' Tumor is a tumor of the kidney, that is usually seen in young children (1 to 4 years of age). It is rare for it to occur in adults. The tumor grows from within the kidney. The staging of the tumor lets you know how large the tumor is, and if there is metastatic disease. Stage I is the smallest tumor, Stage II tumors are somewhat larger, Stage III tumors have either a tumor that has "broken open" or has lymph nodes with tumor in them, and Stage IV is metastatic disease, usually in the lungs.
The prognosis for Wilms' Tumor in general is extremely good. The types of chemotherapy given depend on the stage of tumor, but they are generally well tolerated by those receiving them. For Stage II, your friend may be taking something like vincristine and actinomycin-D chemotherapy medicines. Radiation therapy is also used in some cases, mainly for stage III and stage IV disease. The tumor almost always has to be surgically removed, often leaving the person with one kidney (not usually a problem for that person in the long run).
Wilms' tumors grow very quickly (even days). Often they are noticed by a parent while giving the child a bath. Symptoms are generally pretty mild - maybe some vague abdominal pain, sometimes blood in the urine.
For a stage II Wilms' tumor, the outcome for cure should be around 95%. Hope this helped.

deepcristal · 05-21-2004, 02:50 AM

I was diagnosed with a Wilhms Tumor when i was 4 years old.
They removed my (L) kidney, and I under went 6 months of Chemotherapy.
I am now 21, healthy, & have had no problems nor any side effetcs.

I have no idea what stage it was, but it was the size of a grapefruit.
My mother didn't notice under i started vomting all the time.
She waited about 1 week or less and it had already grown to that size.

Hang in there.....

-Deepcristal

jbot · 08-12-2005, 10:20 PM

Thank you for sharing your sucess with us. My little freind is 7. He is in stage 2 and will have 18 weeks of chemo. Is there anything his family and friends can do for him while he is going through this chemo? He had his kidney removed 3 weeks ago. How can we help him.Right now he is tired from the chemo and sometimes can`t eat much for a few days. Any help on how you got through this time in your life would be appreciated. I know the parents of this little boy needs encourgement as well as he does. Its just so hard to handle and try to pretend everything is normal. Thank you for any help you can share through your experience. May you continue to do well for years to come. Thank you .............jbot

firehorse · 08-18-2005, 01:17 PM

I am 39 years old. I was diagnosed with Wilms Tumor at age 4. I lost my left kidney and adrenal gland, had chemo but the cancer metastized and I had to have a tumor removed from my left lung, along with more chemo and radiation. As a result of the radiation I have slight scoliosis and my left rib cage and breast are smaller than my right.

However, I am an obviously fine and otherwise healthy adult woman. The radiation dose they give now is half of what they gave when I had Wilms, and the chemo drugs are much less toxic. I was hospitalized for pneumonia 3 times during my chemo, and the chicken pox put me in intensive care because I was so immuno compromized.

The little guy will need a lot of rest and distractions. Read to him, watch videos together, sit outside and enjoy what's left of the summer even if he doesn't feel like running around. Don't be afraid to say the "C word." My parents are wonderful and they did the best they could, but the prognosis when I was a kid was much worse than today. My family was afraid to talk about my illness afterward because they were afraid it would come back and kill me. He's 7 and I'm sure he's scared but he's old enough to understand that while treatment stinks, he has an excellent chance of a full recovery. Don't pretend everything is normal - its not - but know that things will be normal again.

Make sure he knows its Ok to get scared, everyone gets scared. Sometimes talking about their feelings may be overwhelming for kids - don't make him talk if he doesn't want to. He might want to draw pictures, or cry, whatever, he'll let you know what he's feeling. Just be there and listen.

In some ways this will be harder on his parents than on him. Kids are incredibly resilient. Having a sick child is torture. Best of luck to your friend and his family.