Aaron's Metastatic Cancer Journey of Faith

Where do we even begin? We have been through so much in the past year that it feels like a dream. Back in November of 2024, we got some bad news. We found out that I was diagnosed with clear cell renal cell carcinoma. Granted, it was only stage 1 at the time; the doctor removed it via partial nephrectomy and sent it off for testing. It turns out then it was a grade 3. The doctor said we had clear margins and to follow up in 6 months for a check-up and scan. Three months after surgery, we went to the VA for lab work and urinalysis. The VA called after and told me I needed to go to the ER because my urine albumin was in the thousands. The cutoff was 25. The ER doctor said he saw some swelling on a CT on the surgical site and I needed an ultrasound. The VA wouldn't cover it because they said it was too soon and I needed to keep my original appointment to follow up. At my 6-month follow-up after surgery, I was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic renal cell carcinoma with rhabdoid features, which had spread to several areas of my body, including bone. The first cancer doctor I talked to said I had less than a year to live, and now the cancer doctor who performed the surgery said if he could go back, he would've removed it then. But now lymph nodes are too swollen for surgery to remove the affected diseased kidney. If that was not enough bad news, we recently got a report back stating it was positive for von Hippel-Lindau disease. So now we are having to address things one step at a time, one day at a time.

But we believe in the power of prayer and have grown even closer to God during all of this. We have been to many healing services and attended many ministries, and we believe God will move if we get on the right treatment plan, and He will heal me and let me watch my kids grow older. I need to walk my daughter down the isle one day. My first task is to get under a manageable level for pain and hopefully become less fatigued.

I have to be strong in faith and show my kids what it means to not give up!