Sid Sadler is a kidney cancer survivor and patient advocate.

Sid Salder

CURE speaks with patient advocate and kidney cancer survivor Sid Sadler.

Raising Awareness for Kidney Cancer and the Challenges Patients Face

Looking back on March 2025, it is important to recognize Kidney Cancer Awareness Month. The awareness month, according to kidneycancer.org, is a time to get involved, as over 600,000 people in the United States live with kidney cancer.

In an interview with CURE, Sid Sadler — a patient advocate and survivor of kidney cancer — sat down to look back on Kidney Cancer Awareness Month, as well as highlighted some unique difficulties that young adults may face after being diagnosed with cancer.

, highlighting challenges patients with kidney cancer may face, as well as what inspired him to become a patient advocate for kidney cancer awareness.

You can catch Sadler’s insights on her experience with kidney cancer, as well as facts and tips, in his 

This is a challenge across the board with cancer. As I've said before, usually when I go into a urologist's office, I'm the youngest person there, and I'm often asked if I'm there for my grandfather or father, not as a patient myself. One of the biggest challenges is the feeling of isolation. Even though we try to do a good job with things like interviews, or other advocates doing interviews and sharing content online — whether it be memes, social media posts or other things — it can still feel isolating.

When you go to that doctor's office, whether it's your oncologist, your urologist or even a [support group], you're usually the youngest person there, especially if you're under 50 or 45. You rarely see two of us in the same room because, honestly, there aren't many of us. That feeling of isolation can be challenging. When you're talking about cancer as a whole and being a young adult, I think about the things that people don't consider, like coordinating with your job, your professional development and time off. Some people don't have the luxury of having a flexible employer, someone who understands that there could be a mild reaction to treatment or that you might need to take a day off. Those are things that people don't necessarily think about, and I think we're trying to do a better job of educating not only other people about that, but also educating doctors.

I love the physicians I have, but I also understand that they don't necessarily think about those minute details in every patient's life. We can't expect a doctor to not only be a brilliant physician with a great bedside manner, but also think about the nitty-gritty things that go on in each of their patients' lives. So, we try to do a better job of talking to doctors and informing them that these factors are part of patient care, not just the medicine, treatment or scans.

For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don’t forget to 

subscribe to CURE®’s newsletters here.

Videos

It is important to recognize Kidney Cancer Awareness Month as a time to get involved, as more than 600,000 people in the U.S. live with kidney cancer.

Although late-stage kidney cancer generated poor survival rates for over two decades, significant progress is being made in the treatment of the disease.

Breaking Down Kidney Cancer Treatment Advancements and Providing Hope

Although late-stage kidney cancer generated poor survival rates for over two decades, significant progress is being made in the treatment of the disease, according to Sid Sadler, who added that advancements driven by dedicated doctors, researchers and clinical trials have led to improved outcomes.

Sadler, a patient advocate and survivor of kidney cancer, went on to note that while a cure remains uncertain, ongoing research continues to develop, providing hope for patients with this disease. To further discuss this topic and the importance of forward-looking research in kidney cancer, Sadler sat down for an interview with CURE.

In case you missed it, you can also catch Sadler’s insights on takeaways from his experience with kidney cancer, as well as facts and tips, in a 

For kidney cancer, we are just beginning to see progress. For the longest time, for 20-plus years, the survival rate for stage 4 kidney cancer was not great. You can go online and see the numbers. While it's still not the best, we have greatly improved that number thanks to incredible doctors, researchers, scientists, caregivers and patients who have been willing to participate in clinical trials. I believe we are turning a corner in kidney cancer.

I don't like to use the word “cure,” and I don't know when that will be. I'm not a doctor, but I think the key message is that there are doctors, researchers and scientists who dedicate their lives to finding ways to cure this disease. So, if you are diagnosed and are listening to or reading this, it's not hopeless. There are many researchers, doctors, and institutions looking for a cure and have found very effective treatments, and even, dare I say, vaccines to treat patients.

On the advocacy side, if people are interested in getting involved, I say, do it. As I mentioned earlier, advocacy work isn't just online or social media or what I'm doing here. It can be many different things. It can be talking to people in your community, talking to another patient, or simply donating your time or money to an organization. Advocacy work has many avenues, so get involved if you're interested.

Sid Salder

Raising Awareness for Kidney Cancer and the Challenges Patients Face

Breaking Down Kidney Cancer Treatment Advancements and Providing Hope

Latest News