“A Plan in Place”

Wendy’s New Year’s Day Diagnosis

At 44, Wendy Connair walked into the ER on January 1, 2023 with severe left-sided flank pain. She left with a plan in place.

“I was scared—but ready to get the details of how to get rid of it. I felt like I was on a mission.”

New Year’s Day wasn’t supposed to look like this. After bloodwork and a urine sample didn’t explain the pain, the ER doctor ordered a CT scan. While waiting, Wendy opened her patient portal—something she knew well after caring for her mother through cancer. She read familiar words in the portal. She didn’t need anyone to translate it for her: she had kidney cancer.

Her young physician returned, slowly closed the door, and sat down. “We need to talk,” the doctor began, bracing to deliver the devastating news. Wendy met her halfway. “I already know. I have kidney cancer,” she said calmly. “What do we need to do to fight it?” The look of relief on the doctor’s face said everything. The heaviness of breaking the news lifted, and the plan began.

Only six weeks later—on February 14, 2023—Wendy underwent a partial nephrectomy. Her timeline moved quickly. By mid-April, she was back to work—something that mattered deeply to her, because work for Wendy is something she loves. She educates and sells landscaping services, and spends off hours on her kayak or her motorcycle. “Plants make people happy,” she says. So does getting back to the life you love.

Today, two years out, Wendy is cancer-free (NED). She credits a village—not just one or two people—with carrying her through. That network showed up.  It’s the kind of support Climb 4 Kidney Cancer celebrates and helps build.

Wendy’s advice to anyone newly diagnosed is simple: cancer is scary, but it can also sharpen your perspective. “It put things in perspective for me,” she shares. “It gave me a glimpse of how short life can be and made me appreciate what really matters.” Act on the next step and lean on your people.