Anyone worry about chemotherapy effects?

[mom2three]

Several of my friends have recently been diagnosed with various cancers. It sounds like some of their chemotherapy protocols are nephrotoxic based on what I'm hearing their physicians are doing to protect the kidneys. For us single kidney people (and not having done any research on the topic myself ) I'm just curious if this is a major complication for cancer patients who were living kidney donors. It's not something that would have prevented my donation even if I thought about the long term consequences, but I'm just curious if anyone has undergone chemo with our without kidney complications. Thanks.

[sherri]

This is something that I listed on my con list about donating a kidney. I wasn't so afraid of death during the surgery which leads doctors to call it minimally invasive and safe. It is the long term studies about how living donors age with one kidney that I am interested in. In addition, not just chemotherapy agents are nephrotoxic but dyes that are used during diagnostic studies like some CT scans, MRI's, angiograms (like for cardiac patients) can also put the lone kidney at risk. As we age, using NSAIDs for pain relief from common ailments like arthritis is also a risk. It would be interesting to see research studies about kidney donors and the effects of their one kidney on aging.

[Fr Pat]

     Just to mention that the National Kidney Foundation suggests that one-kidney folks wear an "alert" beacelet of medallion so that emergency room folks will be cautious about using dyes in diagnostic tests. They can (if I understand it right) choose less dangerous dyes or smaller dosages to try to protect the kidney. ALWAYS be sure before getting any test (or taking any new medication) that they are aware that you have only one kidney. Some local braches of the Kidney Foundation will provide those bracelets for free, while others charge a small fee. You can choose several lines of information to be inscribed on them. Contact at www.kidney.org
      Fr. Pat

[audrey12]

Something I learned this week: Your membership in MedicAlert is payable tax-free through your Flexible Spending Account (FSA or Section 125) at work!  There are a lot of items that can be paid for income tax-free through your FSA: Travel expenses for you and a companion, hotel, etc.  If you'd like more info, contact your FSA provider or shoot me a message.