UPDATE: Your donations have kept the lights on and helped us pull the teeth outta these medical bills. I've still got about $4200 left on a bill that's starting to buck on us, but we're working hard to get that handled.

Surgery was July 11th, 2025 and it was a success. They had to make the incision to have room to remove the tumor longer because the whole assembly (tumor and kidney) was bigger than expected. No lymph involvement, and the adenoma came out clean as well. I'll be going back for an MRI every six months for the next two years, but it's out now. Except I still have symptoms...

Turns out my thyroid is to blame for the symptoms. Think about that: for whatever reason, the ER staff heard my symptoms and chose to check my heart and lungs which lead them to finding the adenoma and cancer. If they'd went with the thyroid, they (probably) wouldn't have bothered with the heart/lungs which means I wouldn't know about the cancer until years down the road, most likely when it's really too late to do anything about it, save for checking off that bucket list.

_______________________________

It was hard to tell my family that I was diagnosed with cancer. It's even harder for me to say "We need your help". I've always been one of those "I can handle it myself" types. I don't know why. It drives my wife, Pamela, up the wall, but I'm at a point that I have to admit it. We need help and cannot do this on our own. I've got surgery coming up and I'll be unable to work for several weeks. I just got a new job and I'm hoping I'll still have it when I'm able to go back to work. Everything you donate will go to help keep us afloat. We just have to get this bridge crossed.

I'm scheduled for surgery on July 7th. I'll be having two procedures, one on each side, one after the other. Why two procedures on each side of my body? Read "The much longer version..." for a more detailed story.

And thank you!

-------------------

The much longer version...

In January, the company where I was the Marketing department added the tasks of quality checking import product and shipping/receiving to my job description. This went on for ten weeks. Instead of sitting at a desk all day, I was now lifting and moving 100-150 pound product, pulling the import products apart for inspection and repair, and I was losing one pound a week doing it. So, ten weeks, ten pounds. A pound a week is totally normal. And then the plant closed and I'm unemployed.

Two weeks after that, I started experiencing an increased heart rate (tachycardia), hand tremors, some breathing issues, and I'm noticing that I'm much more exhausted and sleeping even less well than I was before. Plus, I continued to lose weight and I wasn't moving near as much, yet in eight weeks, I lost 24 pounds. I figured it was just stress and anxiety from being unemployed with bills to pay and I don't want to have my jeep picked up by a flatbed wrecker.

Three months after the plant closed, I'm playing a gig with one of my bands (I'm a bassist and singer) and I almost collapsed on stage in the first set. I ended up napping between sets in the green room. The next day, my wife took me to the ER to get checked out. The doctor's first concerns were my heart and lungs, so they did a X-ray, EKG and a CT scan. My heart? Clean, working fine. Same with my lungs, no issues there.

But the scan noted growths at the bottom of the frame, one of which was over 6cm, so they sent me to a urologist. The urologist tells me that I have a pheochromocytoma on my right adrenal gland. A pheochromocytoma is a rare tumor that forms in the adrenal gland and it can release excessive amounts of adrenaline and other hormones. These hormones can significantly impact blood pressure, heart rate, and other bodily functions, leading to various symptoms according to Yale Medicine. I'm getting a steady stream of adrenaline. Imagine feeling your skin crawl 24 hours a day. It's a lot like that.

If not for that pheochromocytoma causing problems and sending me to the ER, we wouldn't know about the renal cell carcinoma on my left kidney. The CT said it was 6cm? That's because it was at the bottom of the scan. The MRI shows it be much larger. Try 14.6 x 11.2 x 11.4cm! It's scary to think that, if not for the adrenal symptoms, I probably wouldn't know about the one on my kidney until much later. That would be very bad.

Like I said (wrote, really), I just started a new job but now I've gotta go under the knife. I'll be unable to work for a few weeks (it can vary depending on how my body heals) and that's money lost. Unemployment maxed out my credit cards, so it's extremely tight over here. Anything you can donate will help us keep going so I can literally get back on my feet.

Thank you in advance. Enjoy every sandwich! - Erik