Strange symptom leads to man's Stage IV cancer diagnosis

Joe Gillette's morning commute hadn't changed in years — until the three-lane highway became four lanes one day. He realized he was seeing double out of one eye. He thought it might be a side effect from a recent bout of COVID-19 and immediately booked an appointment with his doctor. Gillette's physician suggested he see an eye specialist and get his brain scanned. The eye specialist said Gillette had nerve damage in his right eye, which was causing the double vision. It seemed like an answer, but Gillette decided to get the other scan anyway. The New York resident had spent a decade volunteering with the American Cancer Society, and he understood how important a full workup could be. On his 57th birthday, he underwent the test. Hours later, a notification popped up on his online patient portal while he was out with his wife. "My wife was right next to me, and we're reading it, it says 'Cancer, tumor in the kidney, lung, brain and stomach,'" Gillette recalled. "It was the worst birthday present ever. I was devastated, to say the least." Gillette's doctor confirmed that he had Stage IV kidney cancer. There were two tumors in his brain. Other scans showed tumors in his bones, lymph nodes, lungs and pancreas. A biopsy confirmed that all of the tumors were metastases from the kidney. Despite the severity of his condition, Gillette had had no symptoms until his vision doubled. "If it wasn't for COVID, I wouldn't have caught it," Gillette said. …