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There is no time like the present. I am a retired physician diagnosed with clear cell renal cancer in Nov 2003. After being frozen with depression, anxiety and fear for a year I decided I had to become an expert in kidney cancer. The motivation was simple-my life was jeopardized. I was trained as a gastroenterologist (stomach doctor). You can sum up what I knew about kidney cancer in a few words. You get it-it spreads (metastasis)-you die. Enough to drive me into depression-then finally enough to believe that what the Livestrong Foundation says (founded by Lance Armstrong) must become my mantra. UNITY IS STRENGTH, KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING.
Cancer was not knew to me. My beloved wife Cecile was fighting her own battle with stage 4 breast cancer. When I first started practice there was no oncologist in the town where I practiced-just go back to the 1970′s and be outside of a large city. Therefore I worked with oncologists at The Mount Sinai Hospital in NYC and treated GI cancer patients under their direction.
I was a healthy non-smoking athlete who ran marathons, would swim a few miles a week and then started cycling. Anyone can get kidney cancer. But me?
This is an auspicious time to start my blog. It is kidney cancer awareness month. I am now the medical director of Action to Cure Kidney Cancer-a group of kidney cancer survivors and caregivers who volunteer their time to raise awareness of, and money for kidney cancer research.
I dedicate all the work I do to the memory of my beloved wife Cecile. She brought light to my life and love to my heart. I have formed the Cecile and Ken Youner Fund for Cancer Research in her memory.