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Cameron Mathison in 2019.
It’s been almost a year since Cameron Mathison had part of his right kidney removed due to cancer. The Hallmark star says he’s grateful for his health and for pushing his doctors for a diagnosis when they initially thought everything was fine.
Cameron Mathison Said He Knew Something Was Wrong Even When the Doctors Didn’t
Mathison told Us Weekly in an interview that he knew something was wrong, even if the doctors thought he was OK. He wanted an MRI but the doctors didn’t think it was necessary. He said he kept pushing for one until they finally agreed.
Prior to getting the MRI, he’d had about 20 tests on his stomach and blood and had been taking supplements and changing his diet, Media Village reported. He said his white blood cell count was “messed up” and his immune system was low, but doctors still didn’t think he needed an MRI.
“The doctors were insisting I didn’t need an MRI,” he told Media Village. “They never said I couldn’t have one, but I made it my call. Even the technician was wondering why I was getting it done.”
But he persisted and had the MRI done.
“I’m really in tune with how my body feels and how it looks,” Mathison told Us Weekly. “I get tests, I do blood work… I kept sort of insisting or asking about an MRI and they’re like, ‘You don’t need it. You don’t need it.’ And eventually I insisted upon it … And they found the (tumor) before it spread into my lymph nodes and other areas.”
He said he’d been having vague symptoms that alerted him that something wasn’t right, including digestion issues. He was diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma, which initially just has secondary symptoms and nothing very obvious.
Mathison said he had surgery to remove the tumor right away even though it’s typically slow-growing. He was surprised to get the diagnosis in the first place, he told Media Village, because he takes really good care of himself, doesn’t eat carbohydrates, and has a low-sugar diet.
Because of his persistence, his kidney cancer was caught early.
He Said His Immune System Is Improving & He’s Full of Energy
Mathison is feeling much better nearly a year after his kidney surgery, Us Weekly reported. He said that his immune system and energy levels are improving.
“My immune system is certainly coming back and I’m just super, super grateful. (I’m) full of energy and, you know, getting tests done and everything,” he told Us Weekly.
He had the surgery in October 2019, ET Canada reported, and they had to remove part of his right kidney in order to remove the tumor, but they were able to leave most of the kidney. He said when they did the pathology and looked the margins around the tumor, they knew they got all of it and his cancer hadn’t spread.
By November 2019, Mathison told Closer Weekly that he was already close to feeling 100% physically, and only still felt tired.
By May, he had launched a fitness forum and was feeling great, SurvivorNet reported.
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