‘All My Children’ Alum Says He Has Kidney Cancer
Actor Cameron Mathison is asking for prayers and positive thoughts as he battles kidney cancer.
The former soap opera star and Hallmark Channel host revealed on social media that he was diagnosed last month with renal cell carcinoma after an MRI for “some gut issues.”
“The good news is that it hasn’t spread to any other organs,” Mathison said in the post. “They say my healthy lifestyle and diet has no doubt helped keep it from growing and spreading to other areas, as doctors think it’s been growing in me for minimum 10 years.”
While living a healthy lifestyle does increase Mathison’s likelihood of a good surgical outcome and recovery, it most likely had no effect on his diagnosis. “There is no data that lifestyle, diet or other medical issues can or does slow the progression of kidney cancer,” said Moffitt Cancer Center genitourinary surgeon Dr. Brandon Manley.
Mathison’s next step is surgery. “[He] was fortunate he was diagnosed at a stage where the cancer was confined to the kidney, which portends a favorable prognosis often curable with surgery management,” said Moffitt genitourinary surgeon Dr. Philippe Spiess.
Early-stage kidney cancer can be hard to diagnose because of lack of symptoms. The most common symptoms are blood in the urine, persistent abdominal pain and unexplained weight loss or fatigue.
While some renal cell carcinoma tumors are slow-growing, others can grow quickly. Manley says that most kidney cancers, especially small renal masses, are found incidentally during scans for other issues.
Mathison says he is feeling “very grateful and optimistic” moving forward in his treatment.