When Alex Budden was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease, it was a painful echo of her past.
At age 15, she lost her mum to kidney failure after years of being on dialysis.
"She did get a transplant, but unfortunately it failed due to medical malpractice," said Mrs Budden, 34.
"She waited 10 years for that kidney. It failed within a year. She went through many surgeries and a lot of treatment. She got to age 60."
Mrs Budden, of East Maitland, shared her story to mark a Kidney Health Australia campaign called "Taking The Piss", which begins today.
The national campaign urges people to get a kidney health check, which involves a blood test, blood pressure check and urine test.
Mrs Budden, a mother of three children under eight, said being diagnosed with kidney disease was "a big thing to process".
"Trying to discuss it with my kids was hard, especially my eldest as she's very sensitive," she said.
While pregnant with her third child, she was diagnosed with HELLP syndrome, a type of preeclampsia linked to high blood pressure and damage to an organ such as the kidneys and liver.
The condition continued for three months, so she was diagnosed with stage 3A chronic kidney disease, which means mild to moderate loss of kidney function.
"It was a bit of a shock, although not completely out of the blue that something like that was possible with my family history," Mrs Budden said.
"At the moment I'm at a place of peace and accepting it."
Kidney Health Australia chief executive Chris Forbes said more than 2.5 million Australians live with markers of kidney disease and don't know it.
People can lose 90 per cent of their kidney function without having symptoms.
"A staggering 77 per cent of people at risk of kidney disease have not had a kidney piss test in the last 24 months," Mr Forbes said.
"We need Australians at risk to literally take the piss, so we developed a campaign to get the message across."
Mrs Budden said a kidney check had not been on her radar.
"I wasn't aware of any kidney issues before I was diagnosed," she said.
"I'd never had a kidney health check done by any of my GPs, even though they knew about my strong family history of kidney disease."
She sought to raise awareness that people may have to ask for a kidney check, rather than relying on GPs to suggest one.
Mrs Budden is managing her condition through diet changes, monitoring and reviews with a specialist.
"Once you get this diagnosis, it's a when not if situation. Chronic kidney disease doesn't have a cure," she said.
"So at some point, I will get to the point where my kidneys fail and I need dialysis."
Her condition is stable, which she aims to sustain for as long as possible.
"I'm not on medication because my blood pressure is OK. I'm starting dietary changes and keeping an eye on things to try to prevent any more damage," she said.
"I'm getting more testing done to try to figure out in more detail what specific type of kidney disease I have and whether that affects how fast it will progress."
