Detecting Kidney Cancer

In order for you to understand kidney cancer more completely, let us first look at the description and functions of the kidneys. Kidneys are basically the organs in the body responsible for producing and then ridding the body of, liquid waste substance known as urine. The kidney is able to perform this function because of the filtration that occurs in millions of nephrons in this organ. The kidneys are also designed in such a way that it can remove the liquid waste substances but return the filtered liquid to the blood stream and thus it allows the body to retain its water balance. It should also be noted that there is a special hormone that is made in the pituitary gland that controls and regulates the water content in the body.

Kidney cancer is a very dangerous and painful disease in severe cases. However, you should also remember that everyone has two kidneys in the body and if one becomes damaged or can no longer function properly, there is still no immediate problem to be worried about because one kidney can be sufficient for the body's needs and survival. Kidney cancer also constitutes around four percent of all cancers and it affects more males that females. So males should be on the lookout for possible signs of kidney problems.

Some symptoms for kidney cancer include having blood in your urine but it may also be invisible. Another symptom is the chronic pain in the back and side of your abdominal region. Or signs of kidney cancers may be felt in the upper abdomen when you feel lumps or fullness in this area. On the other hand, there may actually be no symptoms of kidney cancer in some cases although you already have this disease. For this reason, it is essential that you try to live a healthy lifestyle that ensures you have a disease free existence.

Meanwhile, around fifteen to twenty percent of people who have present tumors removed confirm that the symptoms of having blood in the urine, pain in the abdominal region and the sensation of fullness and having lumps in the upper abdomen all disappear upon the surgical removal of the tumors. Still other symptoms of kidney cancer you should watch out for include having constipation, fever and the loss of appetite. You may also experience feeling nauseous and vomit in some cases. Anemia or low red blood cell count and polycythemia, which are high blood cell count, may also be experienced when you have kidney cancer.

Because the symptoms present in kidney cancer are not as extreme as other cancers and some of the conditions you may experience are quite common, it is rarely that people can detect kidney cancer at its early stages. But you should be particularly careful when you are in the age of 30 to 70 because most cases of kidney cancer occur at this stage.

Overall, you should remember that preventing cancer is always the best possible option because cancer whether it is kidney, lung, or breast cancer, is difficult to cure once it is already present in your body.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Kidney Cancer


Detecting Kidney Cancer
By Michael Russell