Sandy

Sandy Schmitz was diagnosed with a 5.1 cm right side renal mass concerning cancer in 2013.  There were also some liver masses and a left adrenal mass as well and she was initially told that she probably had metastatic disease.  This is a grave diagnosis because if you take 100 patients with metastatic renal cell cancer only around 8 will still be alive in 5 years.  However, there were some features of her kidney mass that suggested it may not be metastatic.  She underwent a liver biopsy and adrenal removal and both showed no sign of cancer.  She then underwent a robotic partial nephrectomy on the right side.  She has been free of cancer ever since!  She also serves as a member of the Team8 Climb 4 Kidney Cancer board, trying her best to help others who face the same challenge she has to face every day.