World Kidney Cancer Day 2024
One challenge kidney cancer patients face is maintaining quality of life. World Kidney Cancer Day 2024 provides practical help for carers and patients around the world who are living with kidney cancer. On World Kidney Cancer Day 2024, we need to listen to patients, carers, family members, friends and healthcare professionals.
To show your support for World Kidney Cancer Day, you can purchase one of our kidney cancer lapel pins or beautiful glass hearts. Each heart comes with one of the following words: Thank you, Support, Kindness or Friendship. By wearing the lapel pin or showing your heart you will be raising awareness of kidney cancer and your donation will help us continue supporting families affected by kidney cancer. Please visit the Action kidney Cancer World Kidney Cancer Day Enthuse page to show your support.
World Kidney Cancer Day 2024 starts today, Thursday 20th June. Over the next few weeks we will be posting information resources, patient stories and videos on this page and the campaign develops, so please keep visiting us!
This year the theme is ‘listening’:
Patient interviews
Kidney cancer patients from the UK were asked about their experiences of being diagnosed and living with kidney cancer. Here is the first interview with Charlotte. Please click on the image of Charlotte to read her story on our Real stories page:
Charlotte and her colleagues have organised a walk in memory of her husband, Andy, and to raise funds for Action Kidney Cancer. If you would like to support them, please visit the Camilla Ghosh and the PwC Foundation JustGiving page here.
Here is the second interview with Carl. Please click on the image of Carl to read his story on our Real stories page:
In Our Own Words videos
The following videos include kidney cancer patients and carers from the UK talking about their experiences with kidney cancer:
Talking about kidney cancer
Steve, Lynne, and Alison talk emotionally about how they felt when they were told they had kidney cancer, whether they had any support from healthcare professionals to help them deal with the diagnosis, and how they told family and friends of their diagnosis. They also discussed the implications of their diagnosis on their employment and finances.
Coping with a diagnosis of kidney cancer
In this video, Alison, Lynne, Andy and Mick talk about preparing to go into hospital for a nephrectomy, the type of nephrectomy each patient had, and whether they were provided with enough information about the procedure. They also talk about whether they had a biopsy of their tumour.
A carer’s perspective
In this video, Salena, Patrice and Sue talk frankly about their thoughts and feelings when their partner was first diagnosed with kidney cancer. They talk about how they coped with the diagnosis and the advice they would give to other carers/family members.
To watch more videos of patients and carers talking about their experiences of living with kidney cancer, visit our In Our Own Words page.
Shared decision making
The principle that patients should be involved in all the decisions about their own healthcare is called ‘shared decision making’.
Shared decision making is a process which ensures patients are supported to make decisions about their care and treatment which are right for them. It is a collaborative process and it starts with a conversation between the patient who is receiving care and the healthcare professional delivering the care.
The conversation develops into a process in which they work in partnership to make the best possible decisions; bringing together the clinician’s expertise, treatment options, evidence, risks and benefits, and the patient’s individual preferences, personal circumstances, goals, values and beliefs.
One of Action Kidney Cancer’s core beliefs is that patients and their families have an essential role to play in healthcare decisions that affect their lives. Together with the International Kidney Cancer Coalition (IKCC), we have written a series of shared decision aids for people with kidney cancer, their caregivers and families. The booklets are written by a team of patients, patient advocates and medical professionals who between them have supported thousands of kidney cancer patients worldwide.
We hope you will find these booklets helpful as you and your healthcare team navigate the decisions that lay ahead of you. Please click on the image on the right to visit the Shared decision making page on our website.
“I’ve been helped by other people to rebuild my life, and I’ll never forget it.”
Steve, patient from the UK
Action Kidney Cancer is registered with the Fundraising Regulator and abides by the Code of Fundraising Practice, which outlines the standards expected of all charitable fundraising organisations across the UK. The code helps to ensure that the work of fundraising organisations is legal, open, honest and respectful.