Kidney Cancer?
Introduction
Kidney cancer is one of the common cancer .There are two kidneys and they are present in the abdomen. Kidneys are part of our urinary systems which help in formation of urine.
Types
There are various types of kidney cancer ,Renal cell cancer is the most common type.
What do patients complain?
Kidney cancer normally present commonly with pain in abdomen , swelling in abdomen , loss of appetite , feeling bloated, heartburn ,increased frequency of urination , breathlessness in later stage etc.
Diagnosis
There are certain tests used for diagnosis
- Urine analysis
- Ultrasound of abdomen – it is a hand held device which is kept over the abdomen.
- Biopsy - Biopsy involves removing a small piece of tissue from the tumour using either ultrasound or CT scan. These small pieces are sent to pathologist for diagnosis.
- CT scan or WBPET or MRI can be used for complete staging .
Staging
Depending on the size of tumor and its spread they are divided into Stage I,II,III and Stage IV.
Treatment
Almost all patients with Carcinoma Ovary benefit from surgery .Many times chemotherapy is given prior to surgery ( Neo Adjuvant Chemotherapy) or after surgery (Adjuvant chemotherapy).
- Surgery –
Is the main treatment of Kidney cancer. Depending upon extent of disease one can have partial removal of the kidney ( Partial Nephrectomey ) or complete removal of kidney ( Complete Nephrectomy )
- Other local therapies used are destroying the kidney with extreme cold temperature or radio wave , microwave or chemicals .
- Radiotherapy using gamma rays or protons to kill or shrink tumour.
- Targeted therapies can be in the form of oral drugs .
- Immunotherapy – these are injections which uses body immunity to fight against cancer cells.
- Chemotherapy - Are given in the form of injections which are given in the form of cycles with period of rest in between .The side effects of chemotherapy depend on the type of drugs , duration of treatment and dose of the drugs . Common side effects are diarrhoea, hair loss, loss of appetite mouth ulcers etc.
For any further queries you can contact any of the oncologist on this platform .
