Information About Kidney Cancer

While there are many types of cancer that end up involving the kidneys, the term kidney cancer has been determined to refer to those cancers that actually originate in the kidneys themselves. The two most common forms of cancer that fit this description are renal cell carcinoma and urothelial cell carcinoma.

Renal cell carcinoma starts in the tubes of the kidneys that filter the blood and get rid of the waste products. It is the most common kidney cancer in adults, accounting for eighty percent of the adult kidney cancers found in adults and is also the most lethal of the kidney cancers.

Symptoms of renal cell carcinoma include blood in the urine, pain in the side or sides of the body just below the rib cage to just below the pelvis, a palpable mass in the abdomen, and hydronephrosis, which is an enlargement and misshaping of the renal pelvis and calyces, due to the blockage of the free flow of urine from the kidney.

Treatment of renal cell carcinoma focuses on the removal of the obstruction and draining of the urine from the kidney or kidneys involved.

The second of the two most common form of kidney cancer is urothelieal cell carcinoma. It forms itself in the tissue that lines the hollow spaces which are part of the two kidneys. This form of kidney cancer has proven itself to be very difficult to treat effectively. One common form of treatment is surgery, removing the tumor, however it is very often replaced by another tumor.

Another form of treatment used to combat renal cell carcinoma is chemotherapy, that is the use of chemicals to combat the cancer.

Medical studies seem to point to such things as the use of phenacetin as a painkiller, smoking, being exposed to secondhand smoke and the excessive drinking of alcoholic beverages as causes for the formation of renal cell carcinoma.

Ironically enough, recent medical studies seem to indicate that the use of cyclophosphamide to combat other forms of cancer seems to contribute to causing urotheliel cell carcinoma in the kidneys. This makes one wonder if there are times when one might aggressively combat one form of cancer, only to risk giving oneself another form of cancer by so doing.

The best way to fight kidney cancer, or any form of cancer for that matter, is to do all that one can to live in such a way as to prevent its formation. This means eating healthy foods such as vegetables and fruits and getting proper exercise.

Also, follow a routine of following your doctor's recommendations for periodic checkups. Catching kidney cancer in its very early stages can make all the difference in being able to combat it and in being the victor over it, rather than being its victim.