{"id":249798,"date":"2026-04-14T20:51:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T20:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/249798\/"},"modified":"2026-04-14T20:51:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T20:51:11","slug":"stage-4-kidney-cancer-survivor-thankful-he-chose-ut-md-anderson-for-treatment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/249798\/","title":{"rendered":"Stage 4 kidney cancer survivor thankful he chose UT MD Anderson for treatment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Roberto Gonzalez was diagnosed with stage 2\u00a0renal cell carcinoma<\/a> in September 2020. He had a radical nephrectomy<\/a> to remove his left kidney. For the next few years, scans showed no evidence of disease<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Then, in early 2025, Roberto went to the emergency room for chest pains. A CT scan showed suspicious findings. A second CT scan revealed tumors in the lymph nodes<\/a> near his chest and left lung. Then he had a biopsy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe doctor who did the biopsy called me and told me I had stage 4 kidney cancer, and there was no cure,\u201d recalls Roberto, who was 58 at the time. \u201cSince my regular oncologist was on vacation, I didn\u2019t have a plan for treatment or any answers to my questions.\u201d<\/p>\n

That prompted Roberto to get a second opinion at <\/a>UT MD Anderson<\/a>.<\/p>\n

UT MD Anderson leaves lasting first impression<\/p>\n

Roberto\u2019s first appointment was on March 18 with genitourinary medical oncologist Sangeeta Goswami, M.D., Ph.D.<\/a> She explained his metastatic<\/a> clear cell renal cell carcinoma diagnosis and discussed a treatment plan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe used markers and drew out how the cancer starts and where it goes when it spreads,\u201d he says. \u201cShe illustrated it in a way that was easy to understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roberto also had an appointment with his regular oncologist later that day. But he still didn\u2019t have a definitive treatment plan for Roberto yet, and his next appointment wouldn\u2019t be for another two months. Roberto decided to stick with UT MD Anderson. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cJust from being in the parking lot at UT MD Anderson, I told my wife that everything seems very different here,\u201d he recalls. \u201cEverything was so organized. We walked in, and they had greeters to help you so you don\u2019t get lost. They’re amazing. It’s a world of difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

Combination treatment for metastatic kidney cancer<\/p>\n

Roberto started treatment on April 1. It\u2019s a combination of targeted therapy<\/a> and immunotherapy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He takes the tyrosine kinase inhibitor axitinib twice daily in pill form and gets infusions of immunotherapy drug pembrolizumab every three weeks at UT MD Anderson. The drive isn\u2019t too bad since he lives just north of Houston, in Humble.<\/p>\n

The treatment has helped to shrink the tumors significantly. The plan is for him to continue the therapy.<\/p>\n

Help managing cancer treatment side effects<\/p>\n

He\u2019s had some side effects<\/a> like joint and back pain<\/a>, tendonitis and inflammation in his gastrointestinal tract. Sometimes, he\u2019ll have nausea<\/a>, which interrupts his sleep<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Roberto visited UT MD Anderson\u2019s Supportive Care Center<\/a> and Pain Medicine<\/a> to help manage his side effects. Doctors prescribed him medicine to help with nausea as well as a low dose of morphine to help with pain<\/a> and allow him to sleep through the night.<\/p>\n

Recently, Goswami shortened the frequency of the axitinib doses to ease the side effects. Roberto also gets steroid injections<\/a> for joint pain.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe side effects are just a trade-off for treatment,\u201d he says. \u201cI can take the pain as long as it\u2019s shrinking the tumors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Enjoying life\u2019s blessings<\/p>\n

Roberto is a positive person who enjoys staying active and spending time with his wife and kids. He likes to travel, fish and go camping. He hasn\u2019t let cancer stop him from living his life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have a beautiful life. I\u2019ve had my hardships, but I\u2019ve also had a tremendous number of blessings,\u201d says Roberto, who is thrilled about the recent birth of his first grandchild. \u201cI don\u2019t let the cancer diagnosis weigh on me. I know there\u2019s a lot more for me to do in life.\u201d<\/p>\n

This included attending the James P. Allison Institute\u2122 3rd Annual Scientific Symposium<\/a> on Oct. 24, 2025.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe symposium was very informative, and I was amazed by the presentations,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

It really reinforced that UT MD Anderson isn\u2019t only the best place to get cancer care; it\u2019s also leading the way in finding new treatments through the Allison Institute\u2122.<\/p>\n

Goswami is a member of the Allison Institute\u2122 and is focused on understanding why some patients respond to immunotherapy while others do not. Her goal is to improve treatments for all patients.<\/p>\n

\u201cTechnology and modern medicine have come a long way, and there’s science behind it,\u201d he says. \u201cI liked how the speakers explained how immunotherapy was discovered and what they’re doing in the lab to research<\/a> it. It related to what I’m going through in my own cancer treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roberto trusts that his care team will continue providing him with the best treatment.<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Goswami has been taking great care of me,\u201d he says. \u201cI trust UT MD Anderson completely. They know what they\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Request an appointment at UT MD Anderson online<\/a> or call 1-877-632-6789.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Roberto Gonzalez was diagnosed with stage 2\u00a0renal cell carcinoma in September 2020. He had a radical nephrectomy to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":249799,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[1145,56,58,57,39161,91924,52399,39164,75671,1148,52398,91923,2822],"class_list":{"0":"post-249798","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-caregivers","9":"tag-houston","10":"tag-houston-headlines","11":"tag-houston-news","12":"tag-in-treatment","13":"tag-james-p-allison-institute","14":"tag-kidney-cancer","15":"tag-newly-diagnosed","16":"tag-patient-caregiver-stories","17":"tag-patients","18":"tag-renal-cell-carcinoma","19":"tag-second-opinion","20":"tag-survivors"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249798","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249798"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249798\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/249799"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249798"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249798"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249798"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}