Birthday app notification reveals Joe Gillette’s stage IV kidney cancer

A birthday message in Joe Gillette’s online patient portal delivered a diagnosis far more serious than the eye problem that first sent him to a doctor. The 57-year-old Brooklyn resident had noticed double vision in one eye during his morning commute, a change he initially wondered might be tied to a recent bout of COVID-19.

Gillette had spent about a decade volunteering with the American Cancer Society and understood the value of getting checked thoroughly. A doctor recommended an eye specialist and a brain scan. The eye specialist said Gillette had nerve damage in his right eye, which seemed like an explanation for the vision change. Gillette decided to get the scan anyway.

Hours later, while he was out with his wife, a notification appeared in his online portal. “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.”

His doctor confirmed Stage IV kidney cancer. Further scans found two tumors in his brain, along with tumors in his bones, lymph nodes, lungs and pancreas. A biopsy showed that all of the tumors had metastasized from the kidney. Gillette said he had no symptoms until the double vision started, a reminder of how quickly advanced cancer can hide behind a seemingly isolated complaint. “If it wasn't for COVID, I wouldn't have caught it,” he said. “I shudder to think what my condition would have been after waiting another six months.”

Dr. Martin Voss, his oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, said Gillette’s condition was dire. Voss, who specializes in advanced kidney cancer, started him on immunotherapy, followed by radiation and brain surgery. Recovery was complicated enough that Gillette had to be placed in a 10-week medically induced coma. After physical and occupational therapy, and after regaining his strength, he received more radiation therapy, which shrank the tumors.

Gillette then completed two years of immunotherapy and said he saw no major side effects. His case stands against a broader cancer milestone: in January 2026, the American Cancer Society said the five-year relative survival rate for all cancers combined reached 70% for people diagnosed during 2015-2021 in the United States. Stage IV kidney cancer remains far deadlier, with a five-year survival rate of less than 20%, underscoring how much still depends on catching warning signs early and pushing for a full workup when symptoms seem minor.