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Showing posts from February, 2015

The Kidney, The Kid, The Echidna

The Kidney The latest question about Amanda's health has been about her kidneys. Specifically, about one of the kidneys, which has been in danger almost as long as they've been doing scans. Docs in Halifax noted hydronephrosis on one kidney, but opted not to do anything about it, even when they saw "severe" hydronephrosis. They figured a tumor was probably pressing on the ureter, causing urine to back up and damage the organ. Docs in Ontario thought it wiser to treat it, and installed a stent  going from her bladder to kidney through the ureter. The stent was drastically uncomfortable and added new symptoms for Amanda, which led to more prescriptions, which led to more side effects. On top of that, getting the stent installed and replaced was an agonizing ordeal, and easily the worst pain of the whole cancer journey, she said. Pigtail ureteral stent. Imagine that wire tickling your bladder all the time. (Wikipedia) It began to look like the stent wasn'