The symptoms are vague and the disease is often found incidentally, so if you have a family history of kidney cancer, it’s important to talk with your doctor.
The average age of a patient diagnosed with kidney cancer is 64 ““ it’s very uncommon before the age of 45.
“With kidney cancer, there are no protocols to watch it,” said Dr. Michael Dusing, urologist with St. Elizabeth Healthcare. “It’s symptomatic very late.”
What to watch for
For some patients it may be stomach pain that prompts them to go to the doctor. Among tests may be a CT, which may reveal a mass on a kidney. “Often times we are finding these by happenstance,” said Dusing.
“Occasionally, it’s high blood pressure that no one can control or it’s blood in the urine,” said Dusing.
In addition to family history, risk factors include:
- Smoking
- Obesity
- Workplace exposure to some metals, herbicides or organic solvents
- Gender (men are twice as likely)
Other symptoms, according to the American Cancer Society, include:
- Pain in the lower back (not caused by injury)
- A mass or lump on the side or lower back
- Fatigue
- Unexplained weight loss
- A non-infection fever that doesn’t go away
- Anemia
The kidneys are deep inside the body and a mass may not be detected during routine exams. But advances in treatment including laproscopic and robotic surgery offer increasing options for doctors.
Doctors may remove the kidney if the mass is in the middle of the kidney. If the mass is on the side of the kidney, the surgeon can use robotic techniques to remove the mass and preserve the kidney.
