The Past 20 Years Have Been Revolutionary for Kidney Cancer

Metastatic kidney cancer was once seen as a malignancy that was resistant to typical cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation, leaving patients with limited options and low life expectancy.

However, the past 20 years have brought great advancements and approvals to the space, improving life expectancy and quality of life.

As CURE® continues to celebrate its 20th anniversary, we spoke with two experts in the kidney cancer field about treatment discoveries. Both agreed that the greatest advancement in the past 20 years was targeted therapy.

And since 2005, there have been more than a dozen Food and Drug Administration approvals for metastatic kidney cancer, which demonstrates how significant these treatments are for patients.

Along the way, treatments have significantly improved not only survival but also quality of life. One expert noted that treatment 20 years ago resulted in patients consistently having flu-like symptoms, and many eventually stopped treatment because of it. With these new treatments, side effects still occur, but they are much more manageable and do not affect quality of life to the point of stopping treatment.

Also in this issue, Robert Hollander discusses how he turned his passion into purpose. As a lover of wine for many years, he began making his own for fun, but that all changed after he received a diagnosis of metastatic prostate cancer. He started a foundation and is now funding research for prostate cancer with the sales of his wine.

It became a great way of dealing with his situation and continuing his passion while also helping a meaningful cause.

“Everybody who goes through this journey has to find a way of dealing with a difficult situation,” he says. “The winemaking is fun, and having people enjoy it is great too. It’s a small thing, but (I’m) just trying to (make) the best of a challenging situation.”

And don’t forget to HIIT it! For some patients with prostate cancer, treatment with standard therapies may not be the best course, so their doctors recommend active surveillance. However, this period of time can be difficult for many patients, causing psychological distress and affecting their quality of life. But new data demonstrate that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts can improve these patients’ quality of life. CURE® spoke with an expert about how patients can start a HIIT program and the benefits they may get from it.

As always, we hope you find these stories to be informative and inspiring. Thank you for reading.

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