Brenda's Story

Brenda Fischler was diagnosed with Kidney Cancer, which is also known as Renal Cell Cancer, in January of 2006. Brenda has been married to Scott for 10 years and they have two children; Ashley, 19 and Emily, 7. Brenda is the sister of Annette Schwartz (owner of Kiwi Beach)  and Lynn Erickson (also from Kiwi Beach). The tumor that was found was quite large and the only treatment option at that time was to have the tumor and her left kidney removed. At that point, they noticed that some of her lymph nodes looked suspicious, so they ordered a full chest scan. They found that the cancer had spread to her lungs. There are numerous nodules in both of Brenda’s lungs, which make it inoperable.

  There is no cure for RCC. We need your help!

  Brenda is an unbelievable person. Her personality and humor are like a magnet to people and make her unforgettable. She is a wonderful mother and wife and loves life! Brenda is also a fighter and has been through some really tough times over the past year and a half. She has continued to keep a positive attitude and wants to continue her fight with your help. Please help Brenda and her family fight Kidney Cancer at her fundraiser.

We are asking you to contribute to the event on June 2^nd at the Lakeville VFW from 4P-10P, send in a donation or provide merchandise for her silent auction. All proceeds from the fundraiser will be donated to the Minnesota Medical Foundation at the University of Minnesota . Brenda and her family thank you in advance for your contribution. If you have questions please feel free to contact Scott at 612-229-0133 or Lynn Erickson at 612-636-2444.

  Update on Brenda’s Treatment

  There are not many treatment options for Renal Cell Cancer. One of the few is a High Dose Interleukin II treatment. This is where they try to bolster the immune system to fight off the cancer. The treatment is extremely toxic and requires hospital stays of more than a week at least two times. Brenda was extremely tough during these treatments and took on the maximum doses to fight the cancer. Even though this treatment is one of the most effective in treating Renal Cell Cancer, it has a success rate of less than 15%. At a follow up scan about a month after her second treatment, Brenda found out the cancer had grown and that the treatment was not working.

Brenda is now on a drug called Sutent which is a good drug for stabilizing the disease. It will not make the tumors go away, but it can stop them from growing. It also has some very bad side effects, but this is an effective drug for Brenda because it will buy her time. The more time she can hold the cancer at bay the better chance they will come out with new treatment options. Right now there are several drugs in trail stage, but not many others that are approved for treatment. The bad news about Sutent is it may only work for about 1 year or less. 

Scott, Ashley, Brenda, and Emily