Stage 4 Renal Carcinoma

Whilst the summer of 2017 was drawing to an end and we were getting organised for the children to return to school, Steve suddenly began
to feel unwell with double vision in his right eye, followed by  headaches and sickness. Which resulted a couple of weeks later Steve
and I attending A&E where our lives change forever, and our world fell apart. Over a weekend full of scans and tests Steve was diagnosed stage 4 Renal Cancer with no prior indication he was this seriously unwell.

Renal cancer is a silent cancer and usually is diagnosed when the clinical team are looking for something completely unrelated.

Steve did not have any of the potential risk factors or any of the signs 
and symptoms such as blood in the urine. Hence the significant
proportion of patients are diagnosed when the cancer has already
metastasised (spread) to other parts of the body.   

Whilst been thrown unwantedly full force onto this rollercoaster it became very evident a significant proportion of patients are diagnosed at stage 4 and often go misdiagnosed for some time, the treatment 
options have been limited and only recently drugs have been produced in the hope to stall the progression, unfortunately these
drugs aren't always available throughout the NHS for everyone. Also, funding and information is low in comparison to some other cancers. Steve describes renal cancer funding as the table tennis of the Olympic games!!!

Luckily alongside our family and friends who continue to keep us up right and who we will always be eternally grateful, we have found a charity Kidney Cancer support network who make it their mission to improve the lives of the patients, families and friends with renal cancer, supporting with information , awareness of clinical trials, lobbying for treatments and research to name but a few projects of their great work.

The Baileys are raising money for this charity to keep ourselves busy… to give something back to the charity who are supporting us and to raise
awareness of Renal Cancer by organising and or taking part in events throughout the year. 

Exercise has been key for Steve and his health over the last 18 months, it is helping us all with our wellbeing and to stay on top of the side effects, taking a Biotherapy Drug every day can cause. So, friends and I are taking on the 50K Chiltern Challenge in July for this cause.

I understand that everyone has their chosen charities but if you could consider donating blood, you could save a life.

Love Rach xxxxx

The
Kidney Cancer Support Network (KCSN) is the largest and most active patient-led
charity, supporting the largest network of kidney cancer patients and carers
across the UK.We strive to improve the lives of those affected by kidney cancer
by advocating for the best possible clinical care and treatment, raising
awareness and providing vital support and information to anyone affected by
kidney cancer. The KCSN is widely recognized as the specialist charity for
kidney cancer in the UK, led by patients for patients.