‘Watch Your Bodies. Get a Physical. Get Tested’: ‘Happy Death Day’ Director Chris Landon Urges Vigilance After Kidney Cancer Diagnosis, Emergency Surgery

Landon was diagnosed a week ago with the disease and admits he initially wasn’t going to post about his diagnosis and share the news publicly. But he saw a service opportunity in doing so the opportunity to encourage others to take care of their health and get screened for cancer.

In a post to Instagram, Landon writes, “Whelp….where to start. About a week ago I was diagnosed with kidney cancer. I was rushed into emergency surgery to have part of my kidney removed. I wasn't going to post about it but I kinda need to because I got lucky and caught it early…”

 

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He continues, saying, “…It was a fluke that it was discovered and it hadn't spread yet. PSA time: watch your bodies. Get a physical. Get tested. Get imaging when you can. Some of these cancers are silent killers. You don't know they are there until it's too late. I could have spent years walking around with this without symptoms. I'm so grateful to my doctors, my husband, my family and friends. I'll get through this but PLEASE be vigilant too.”

Understanding Kidney Cancer

Kidney cancer also called "renal cancer" is a cancer that originates in the kidney and can spread to other parts of the body, too. Depending on the stage of the cancer at the diagnosis, your doctor will outline the best treatment path for your specific situation. The American Cancer Society (ACS) outlines the following treatment paths for this disease:

• Surgery
• Ablation and Other Local Therapy
• Active Surveillance
• Radiation Therapy
• Targeted Therapy
• Immunotherapy
• Chemotherapy

Kidney cancer is one of the ten most common cancers in both men and women. This year, approximately 76,080 new cases of kidney cancer (48,780 in men and 27,300 in women) will be diagnosed in the U.S., says the ACS. The majority of people diagnosed with kidney cancer are older. The average age of diagnosis is 64-year-old, and the disease is uncommon in anyone under 45.

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How to Be an Advocate for Your Health

As Landon notes, and as our experts tell us, it’s important to be an advocate for your health. Cedars-Sinai colorectal surgeon Dr. Zuri Murrell encourages people to “be pushy” if they need to be, and enter every doctor’s appointment with a plan.

In an earlier interview, Dr. Murrell says, “The truth is you have to be in tune with your body, and you realize that you are not the statistic. You are not necessarily going to fit into– well, I don’t have to have a colonoscopy yet because I’m not 50, even though my bowel habits have changed, even though I’m having a lot of blood when I have a bowel movement.”

“That’s why it’s important for you to actually educate yourself and be your own health care advocate. And that’s something that I think is really important. You should lead each doctor’s appointment with a plan.”

Be Pushy, Be Your Own Advocate… Don't Settle 

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