What is Kidney Cancer?
Kidney cancer is one of the top ten most common cancers, and it is most often discovered in men over fifty. Renal cell carcinoma is the medical name for the most frequent type of cancer that affects the kidneys.
Kidney cancer – also called renal cancer – is a disease in which kidney cells become malignant (cancerous) and grow out of control, forming a tumor. Almost all kidney cancers first appear in the lining of tiny tubes (tubules) in the kidney. This type of kidney cancer is called renal cell carcinoma. The good news is that most of kidney cancers are found before they spread (metastasize) to distant organs. And cancers caught early are easier to treat successfully. However, these tumors can grow to be quite large before they are detected.
The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs, each about the size of a fist. They lie in your lower abdomen on each side of your spine. Their main job is to clean your blood, removing waste products and making urine.
Symptoms
Kidney cancer rarely causes signs or symptoms in its early stages. And currently there are no routine tests used to screen for kidney cancer in the absence of symptoms. In the later stages, kidney cancer signs and symptoms may include:
- Blood in your urine, which may appear pink, red or cola colored
- Pain in your back or side that doesn’t go away
- Loss of appetite
- Unexplained weight loss
- Tiredness
- Fever, which usually comes and goes (intermittent)