Kidney Cancer

There a number of symptoms you should look out for, including:

• blood in your pee
• low back pain on one side
• a lump in the belly area, side or lower back
• not feeling hungry
• losing weight without meaning to
• low levels of iron in the blood (anaemia)
• feeling really tired for no reason

Having these symptoms many not mean you have cancer, but it’s really important to check.

If you have any of these problems, or are worried about something else, yarn with your doctor, nurse or Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander health worker.

Blood in the urine should never be ignored.

You won’t know if you have kidney cancer until your doctor has talked to you, completed an examination and done some tests.

The tests might include:

• a physical examination
• a blood test
• checking a sample of your pee
• an ultrasound, a CT scan or an MRI scan to see what your insides look like
• an intravenous pyelogram, or IVP, which means you have an injection of a special dye while you have an X-ray of your kidneys.

Most people who have these tests find out they don’t have cancer. But it’s really important to check.

If you have kidney cancer, you might be told it’s at a certain stage. This describes whether or not it has spread to other parts of your body, and how far.

• Stage 1: The cancer is only in the kidney and the tumour is smaller than 7cm across.
• Stage 2: The cancer is only in the kidney and the tumour is bigger than 7cm across.
• Stage 3: The cancer has spread just outside the kidney but not very far.
• Stage 4: The cancer has spread to other parts of the body. This is also known as metastatic cancer.

With all stages of kidney cancer, there is plenty of treatment and support that can help you. 

Treatment for kidney cancer depends on lots of things,  including the stage of the cancer, where it is in your body and how you feel.

Treatment often involves surgery to remove the tumour. Some people also have radiotherapy or targeted therapy, and some people are treated by ablation, which is another way to remove or shrink tumours. If you have kidney cancer, you might need one of these, or a combination of them.

If the kidney tumour is small, doctors may decide to keep a watch on it to see if it grows.

Yarn with your doctor, nurse or Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander health worker about which treatment you might have. You can also discuss traditional healing and cultural practices as part of your treatment plan.

Surgery

Surgery is done to take out the cancer and stop it from spreading. Surgery involves staying in hospital and having an anaesthetic and an operation.

Some people have part of the kidney removed, while others have their whole kidney removed. Some people have some of the tissue around the kidney removed, too. Some people will have some of their lymph nodes taken out. The doctor will talk to you beforehand about what is going to happen and why.

If you have a kidney removed, it is important to know that most people can live normally with only one kidney.

Yarn with your doctor, nurse, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander health worker or social worker about your surgery and what support you and your family need before, during and after surgery. Being away from Country and family can be distressing so making sure you have the right support is important.

Read more about surgery.

Radiotherapy

Radiotherapy, also called radiation therapy, uses X-rays to destroy cancer cells in one part of your body.

Some kidney cancers do not respond well to radiation, so radiotherapy by itself is more likely to be used in people who need to avoid the risks of surgery.

Radiation can also be used to ease the symptoms of kidney cancer.

Newer, better types of radiation treatment for kidney cancer might be developed in the future.

You can usually only have radiotherapy in cities and some big towns – see this list. If your doctor thinks radiotherapy would help, and you don’t live near a radiotherapy site, there is help to find you somewhere to stay, support to keep you connected to family and assistance to cover expenses. Having family with you during radiotherapy treatment is an important support that helps keeps you strong.

Yarn with your doctor, nurse, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Health Worker or social worker about your radiotherapy and what support you and your family need before, during and after treatment. Being away from Country and family can be distressing so making sure you have the right support is important.

Read more about radiotherapy.

Ablation

Ablation means killing the cancer while not removing it. There are different ways of doing it – by freezing the kidney, by heating it or by blocking the blood that goes to it.

Yarn with your doctor, nurse or Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander health worker.

Targeted therapies

Targeted therapies are newer drugs that try to stop the cancer growing. Targeted therapies attack cancer cells without harming healthy cells. If your doctor thinks they might help, here are some questions to ask. 

Read more about targeted therapy.

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is treatment with drugs that help your immune system attack the cancer cells. Immunotherapy is given in your arm through a vein.  It is usually given in cycles of once every few weeks. You will need to go to a hospital or clinic to have this treatment.

Read more about immunotherapy.

Watch and wait

If your cancer is very small, you might be asked to “wait to see what happens”. You will have regular check-ups with your doctor and have treatment if the cancer starts to cause problems.

If at any time you notice changes in your body or have concerns, talk to your doctor, nurse of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander health worker at any time and if you have concerns.

What is treatment meant to do?

It is important for you to understand why you are getting the treatment your doctor chooses and how it is supposed to help you.  Different treatments try to do different things. It depends on what cancer you have, and whether it has spread to other parts of your body, and where you live, and what you want. Ask your doctor or specialist if the treatment they suggest:

• is meant to cure you, by getting rid of the cancer and stopping it coming back, or
• won’t cure you, but is meant to prolong your life, or make you feel better.

Your doctors should talk to you and explain this. You can talk to them and tell them what you think, and what you want. Some people  will want to try everything possible to kill the cancer to stay alive. Others want simpler treatments, or don’t want to leave family or Country for treatment, or don’t want any treatment. It’s your choice. You can include traditional medicine and cultural practices. You can also talk to another doctor to help you decide.

Deciding on treatment

It can take time to decide about treatment. There are usually some options to hear about and choices to make.

It can be helpful to write things down, have someone else come to appointments to help remember information. Talk things over with your family, trusted friends, or Elders. It is important they are part of the process to support you. Treatment plans can also include traditional healing and cultural practices.

Talk to your doctor, specialist, nurse or Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander health worker.

Always ask about the cost of treatment. Many treatments are free through public hospitals, but some are not. Ask your doctor, nurse, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander health worker or social worker.

Learn more about financial support.

It all depends on the type of treatment you’re having. People will have treatment for different lengths of time. After your treatment is finished, your doctor will keep in touch with you to check on how you’re going.

During treatment you will have an opportunity to build trusted relationships with people who care for you, including your doctors, nurses and Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander health workers.

It is not possible to say what causes kidney cancer in a single person. We do know there are some features that are more common in people who develop kidney cancer. These features are called ‘risk factors’.

But It is usually hard to be sure whether a risk factor contributed to the development of the cancer in a person. And having one or more risk factors for kidney cancer does not mean that someone will develop kidney cancer. In fact, many people with kidney cancer have no obvious risk factors.

Risk factors for kidney cancer that can be changed:

• smoking
• being overweight
• high blood pressure
• using too much of certain types of medicines for pain over a long period of time.

Risk factors for kidney cancer that can’t be changed:

• genetic conditions, such as von Hippel-Lindau disease, hereditary renal cell cancer etc.
• family history of bowel cancer
• exposure to certain chemicals
• advanced kidney disease, especially where dialysis is required
• sex of the patient. Renal cell cancer is twice as common in men than in women.

If you have any of these risk factors or you’re worried about your risk for kidney cancer, yarn with your doctor, nurse, Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander health worker.

Clinical trials might be an option for you. Talk to your doctor to help you decide if taking part is a good option. Read more about clinical trials.

Read more detail on kidney cancer here.