TRACK DOWN A STOLEN CAR MUCH MORE QUICKLY THAN THE THIEF EVER EXPECTED TO JOIN US FOR LOCAL 4
NEWS IS SIX. MEANTIME YOU
PROBABLY KNOW APRIL IS
COLORECTAL CANCER AWARENESS
MONTH. WE’VE DONE A LOT OF
STORIES ON THAT THE PAST COUPLE
OF WEEKS. BUT DID YOU KNOW IT’S
ALSO KIDNEY CANCER AWARENESS
MONTH? SOME 81,000 NEW CASES OF
KIDNEY CANCER WILL BE DIAGNOSED
IN THE U S. THIS YEAR. MOST
PEOPLE KNOW FAR LESS ABOUT THIS
KIND OF CANCER DOCTOR FRANK
MCGEORGE HERE WITH EFFORTS TO
HELP CHANGE THAT. KIDNEY CANCER
IS HIGHLY TREATABLE IF IT’S
CAUGHT EARLY, BUT TOO OFTEN IT’S
NOT EITHER BECAUSE IT DOESN’T
CAUSE SYMPTOMS OR BECAUSE THE
SYMPTOMS AREN’T ENOUGH TO SEND
SOMEONE TO THEIR DOCTOR. WELL
NOW, CANTON COUPLE HOPES TO
RAISE AWARENESS OF THIS CANCER
BY SHARING THEIR FIGHT. YEAH
THAT’S NOT GONNA WORK AFTER 42
YEARS TOGETHER. TOM AND KATHY
RUSSELL ARE THE ULTIMATE TEAM,
WHETHER THEY’RE TACKLING A
CHALLENGING PUZZLE. WE NEED TO
FIND ONE OF THESE. OR BATTLING
CANCER. IS THERE A YELLOW ON THE
END? IT WAS ONE YEAR AGO, THE
TOM NOTICED SOMETHING STRANGE,
STARTING THIS HALF DOUBLE
VISION. UM WHICH WAS A CONCERN
FOR DRIVING BUT ALSO IN THE
WAREHOUSE WHEN I WAS WORKING,
PULLING ORDERS AND THINGS I FELT
LIKE I WAS GOING TO FALL. I FELT
LIKE I WAS GOING TO FALL TO THE
LEFT. AT FIRST. THEY WEREN’T
OVERLY CONCERNED. I’M THINKING
WELL, YOU KNOW, MAYBE VERTIGO OR
YOU KNOW SOMETHING IN HER EAR,
BUT WHEN THEY WENT TO TOM’S
DOCTOR, AND SHE SENT US TO THE
EMERGENCY ROOM A COUPLE HOURS
LATER, THEY CAME BACK INTO THE
ROOM AND SAID IT WAS CANCER
TUMORS IN THE BRAIN. AND, UH AND
THERE WAS A TUMOR ON MY LUNGS.
MHM. KIDNEY KIDNEY. SOME SOFT
TISSUE. UM LIVER. WENT FROM
BEING 100% FEELING GOOD TO
HAVING STAGE FOUR KIDNEY CANCER.
AND THAT WAS HARD. THAT WAS ALL
IN AN EVENING. TOM WAS
ULTIMATELY DIAGNOSED WITH CLEAR
CELL RENAL CELL CARCINOMA. IT’S
CANCER THAT FORMS IN THE TUBES
THAT FILTER WASTE FROM THE BLOOD
. UNDER THE MICROSCOPE, THE
CANCER CELLS LOOK LIKE CLEAR
BUBBLES. IT’S THE MOST COMMON
TYPE OF KIDNEY CANCER. I WAS
TOTALLY SHOCKED. I HAD NO IDEA
THAT THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON
INSIDE IN TERMS OF THE CANCERS
THAT PEOPLE GET. IT’S MUCH LESS
COMMON THAN, SAY COLON CANCER OR
BREAST CANCER. PROSTATE CANCER.
THE PAST YEAR HAS BEEN A LONG
JOURNEY WITH TOM RECEIVING
TARGETED RADIATION TO TREAT THE
TUMORS IN HIS BRAIN, ALONG WITH
IMMUNOTHERAPY AND CHEMOTHERAPY,
FIRST ROUND OF IMMUNOTHERAPY
THROUGH THEM AND DELIVER
FAILURE. AND THEN HIS, UM, FIRST
ROUND OF CHEMOTHERAPY CAUSE, UM
, ACUTE KIDNEY DAMAGE, SO THOSE
HAD TO BE STOPPED, BUT THE
SECOND LINE OF TREATMENTS ARE
WORKING THE TUMORS IN HIS BRAIN
AND ONE LUNG LESIONS ARE GONE
AND OTHER LUNG LESION IN HIS
KIDNEY TUMOR REDUCED BY HALF AS
THEY CONTINUE TO FIGHT TOM’S
CANCER THEY WANT TO HELP OTHERS
BY RAISING AWARENESS, SOMETHING
THAT’S KEY FOR RESEARCH, FUNDING
AND EARLY DIAGNOSIS. TO ME. THE
MORE PEOPLE KNOW THE BETTER
EQUIPPED. THEY ARE FOR
EVERYTHING THROUGH SOME OF THE
RESEARCH. THEY’RE FINDING THAT
ACTUALLY, KIDNEY CANCER IS VERY
RESPONSIVE, ESPECIALLY IF IT’S
KAT EARLY TO SOME OF THESE NEW
MEDICATIONS AND TREATMENT LINES
AND SO ANYTHING THAT WE CAN
TO BRING AWARENESS FOR PEOPLE.
YOU KNOW, IS REALLY IMPORTANT,
AS IN TOM’S CASE, KIDNEY CANCER
OFTEN DOESN’T CAUSE SYMPTOMS IN
THE EARLY STAGES, BUT SOME RED
FLAGS TO WATCH OUT FOR OUR BLOOD
IN THE URINE, FATIGUE FEVER,
LOSS OF APPETITE, UNEXPLAINED
WEIGHT LOSS, LOW BACK PAIN ON
ONE SIDE OR A LUMP ON THE SIDE
OR LOWER BACK. TOM WAS
EXPERIENCING SOME SHORTNESS OF
BREATH. BUT THAT WAS AFTER THE
CANCER HAD ALREADY SPREAD. THE
MORE AWARENESS, THE BETTER.
SOMETHING DOESN’T FEEL RIGHT. GO
GET CHECKED TOGETHER WITH THEIR
SON, MIKE. THEY’RE HOPING FOR
BRIGHTER DAYS AHEAD. VERY
DETERMINED, YOU KNOW IN THE
MEDICATIONS ARE SHRINKING THE
TUMORS. SO I HOPE THIS CONTINUES
. HE HAS FOUGHT THIS AND DONE
WHATEVER IT NEEDS TO BE DONE,
AND HE’S GOING TO KEEP ON. WE’RE
IN THIS TOGETHER. HE’S STUCK
WITH ME. HE’S GOING TO BE AROUND
A LOT LONGER. TOM CONTINUES TO
UNDERGO TREATMENT AND GET SCANS
EVERY THREE MONTHS TO MONITOR
THE CANCER. THE RUSSELLS ARE
LOOKING FORWARD TO A LITTLE
TRAVEL THIS SUMMER AND HOPE TO
TAKE A DREAM TRIP TO ALASKA NEXT
YEAR. AND YOU CAN LEARN MUCH
MORE ABOUT KIDNEY CANCER. WITH
THIS STORY ON THE HEALTH PAGE
CLICKONDETROIT.COM BACK TO YOU.