Denise Szalkowski

These were the feelings that Denise encountered when diagnosed at the age of 57. She’s always been very physically active going to the gym, biking, cross country skiing, kayaking, walking lifting weights and painting.

She’d worked for 40 years in higher education culminating in as a special assistant to the President of the State University of New York in Fredonia.

She was diagnosed with a small renal mass when getting worked up for ulcer like symptoms. In her words,

“As an otherwise healthy, female with no other symptoms, I was shocked to learn I had a 2.7 solid mass in my right kidney. In less than one week, we were supposed to celebrate our daughter's wedding. How could this be? Due to the wedding, I chose to keep my diagnosis from my family. Waiting for my CT report, following the MRI, to determine if my cancer had metastasized, was like watching paint dry. Those four days of waiting were also the start of my anxiety which would continue to elevate for two months leading up to my surgery. Shortly after our daughter's wedding, my husband left for a hunting trip in Montana. He would be off the grid for two weeks. I was still struggling to accept my diagnosis and now I was alone to research hospitals, surgeons, and to learn everything I could about kidney cancer - alone. So much of what I read was gloomy. Since I had no idea what stage or grade of cancer I was dealing with, my anxiety was difficult to manage. I felt alone and wished I had someone to lean on. I couldn't eat, sleep, and my anxiety was causing my blood pressure (typically low) to be high. l couldn't think about anything except the cancer in my body. Fortunately, through a kidney cancer Facebook group, I was able to connect with Dena Battle. After meeting with FOUR surgeons who told me that my mass could only be removed via open flank with partial rib removal (due to the location), Dena connected me with Dr. Weight at Cleveland Clinic who offered to remove my mass robotically. Dr. Weight successfully performed my surgery on Dec. 11. Prior to surgery, I feared the pain, but the staff at Cleveland Clinic made me feel comfortable and they managed my pain after surgery. My pathology report showed an oncocytic renal neoplasm, with low risk of metastasizing. Less than 1% of kidney cancers are classified as oncocytic. Going forward, I'll have MRI imaging every six months.”

She’d like to thank Dena Battle from Kidney Cancer Cure helped her find my surgeon Dr. Weight. Marcella from the Facebook Stages 1, 2, & 3 Kidney Cancer Patient Support stayed with her as they navigated their kidney cancer together.

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