Kidney Cancer

Understanding Kidney Cancer

Kidney cancer is a type of cancer that attacks the kidneys. The kidney is the organ in the body that function to filter impurities from the blood and turn it into urine. Humans have two kidneys located on either side of the waist under the rib cage. Cancer usually attack one kidney only.

Kidney cancer mostly suffered by people who have aged 50 years and over. At the initial stage usually no symptoms are felt. At an advanced stage, a person who suffers from this disease can experience pain and swelling around the waist area. In addition, the kidney cancer symptoms can be:

• Changing the color of the urine becomes reddish or Brown as it has mixed with the blood.
• Weight loss.
• Blood deficiency or anemia.
• Body feels tired.
• Appetite decreases.
• Break out a sweat at night.
• Hypertension or high blood pressure.
• Swelling of the veins around the testes (if kidney cancer suffered by men).
• A high fever.

The severity of kidney cancer is generally marked by the TNM system. The letter T indicates how much cancerous tissue (tumor) has grown, among them:

• T1a (when the diameter of the tumor is still less than 4 cm).
• T1b (when the diameter of the tumor has reached a size of 4 to 7 cm).
• T2 (when the tumor diameter was more than 7 cm but is not yet spreading out the kidneys).
• T3a (when the tumor has spread to the layer of fat surrounding the kidney or adrenal gland extends to have).
• T3b (when the tumor has spread into the Renal vein or into the main vein/vena cava).
• T3c (if the spread of the tumor has crossed the diaphragm).
• T4 (if the spread of the tumor have passed hard tissue layers that protect the kidneys).

While the letter N indicates whether the cancer has spread to lymph nodes near the kidneys, among them:

• N0 (not the presence of cancer cells in the lymph nodes).
• N1 (cancer cells already exist in one lymph nodes).
• N2 (cancer cells already exist in two or more lymph nodes).

The last letter, and the letter M, the i.e. indicates whether cancer cells have spread to other parts of the body. The following Division:

• M0 (indicating that the cancer cells have not spread to other body parts).
• M1 (indicates that the cancer has spread to other parts of the body)

Causes Of Kidney Cancer

Cancer occurs when cells in the human body grow uncontrollably. In the case of kidney cancer, the cause is not yet known. Although it is not yet known, there are a number of factors that can increase the risk of developing kidney cancer, among them:

• Being overweight or obese.
• Have a family member with cancer of the kidney.
• Smoking.
• Disease hypertension.

In addition to these factors, the kidney cancer also allegedly could happen due to the side effects of dialysis treatment in cases of kidney failure and side-effects of drug consumption is a pain reliever (such as medicines the nonsteroid bitter taste), though this risk is very small.

A Diagnosis Of Kidney Cancer

If you feel any symptoms of kidney cancer, such as pain in the lumbar region and constantly urinating blood, accompanied soon encountered the doctor to do the examination.

The doctor will likely do blood and urine checked beforehand to make sure the kidney conditions experienced by patients. This means the perceived symptoms the patient is not necessarily due to cancer and it may just be a result of kidney stones or kidney infections etc.

Likening the examination sistoskopi, this method may be performed if doctors suspect blood in urine due to problems with the bladder.

If it turns out that the cause of the symptoms not due to infection, diseases of the kidney stones, or other conditions, then the doctor may do a follow-up inspection to detect the presence of cancer of the kidney, such as:

• ULTRASOUND
• Biopsy
• CT scans and MRI scans
• X-ray examination
• Kidney Cancer Treatment

The method of handling the main kidney cancer is through surgery. There are two kinds of operations, first is nefrektomi. Through this procedure, the doctor will try to eliminate cancer cells by raising a number of parts of the kidney or even entirely, depending on the magnitude of the diameter of the tumor.

When the diameter of the tumor is still less than 4 cm, then some part of the affected kidney cancer will be cut off by a doctor. Conversely, if the diameter of the tumor was more than 4 cm, then the kidney should be removed and the patient will live with one kidney.

This type of handling the other is embolization. This procedure is done by injecting a special substance into a vein of the kidney to inhibit blood flow. With the disconnection of the supply of nutrients or oxygen into the kidneys, then gradually the tumor will shrink.

In addition, the current range of drugs being developed to treat kidney cancer, such as:

• Sunitinib. This medication works by inhibiting a protein kinase (an enzyme that helps the growth of cancer cells) so that the development of cancer can be stopped.
• Sorafenib and pazopanib. In addition to works such as sunitinib, that inhibits the enzyme tyrosine kinase, both of these drugs are also capable of preventing cancer cells grow blood vessels.
• Axitinib. These drugs are usually made as an alternative by doctors when the granting of sunitinib or pazopanib is not effective. This medication has not been getting into Indonesia.
• Temsirolimus and everolimus. Both of these medications work by inhibiting or disrupting the function of MTOR protein in cancer cells, so that the number of cancer cells not more.

In addition to the use of drugs, ways of handling in the case of kidney cancer include:

• Radiotherapy. Although the procedures that use radiation from the radioactive energy cannot fully cure cancer, radiotherapy is able to reduce the perceived pain of patients and can slow the progression of cancer.
• Radiofrequency ablation. This method is often applied to the doctor when the severity of kidney cancer is still low (initial phase). On the other hand, this move is due to the patient's condition does not allow for surgery or cancer position too close to the bowel. In this method, the cancer cells will be destroyed by the heat generated by radio waves.
• Cryotherapy. Almost the same as cryotherapy, radiofrequency ablation is performed if the patient's condition does not allow for the surgery, for example due to lack of fit or size of the tumor is still small. In this method, the cancer cells are killed by the way frozen.

Prevention Of Kidney Cancer

We can minimize the risk of kidney cancer by means of applying a pattern of healthy living, such as:

• Stop smoking or avoid cigarette smoke.
• Consuming foods rich in fiber, such as whole grains, vegetables, and fruits, as well as eating foods that are low in fat and salt. In addition, multiply the consumption of salmon, sardines, and mackerel because vitamin D in fish oil can lower the risk of developing cancer.
• Do sports regularly during 2.5 hours in one week, as the activity of cycling, brisk walking, swimming or running.
• If you suffer from obesity, reduce the weight to avoid kidney cancer by means of combining regular exercise and healthy food consumption.

Kidney Cancer Prognosis

The success rate of the treatment and kidney cancer sufferers aged period depends on the aggressiveness and the severity of this disease when undiagnosed. When kidney cancer is still in the initial phase when undiagnosed sufferer, then the chance to live longer will be greater than those kankernya has entered the phase of medium or severe when undiagnosed. Often times kidney removal surgery are able to hammer out the disease and the patient can live a healthy life even though with one kidney.

It is estimated as many as almost 90 percent of the early stage of kidney cancer sufferers who are successful doctors, undiagnosed can live for at least the next five years. Whereas, in the case of a cancer that has already spread outside the kidney when undiagnosed sufferers, afford to live at least 5 years into the future is estimated at 70 percent.

The life expectancy is judged better when compared to cases of kidney cancer are undiagnosed, severe, that is when the cancer cells have been gnawing at a number of other organs. Opportunity to be alive for at least the next five years is estimated to be only 10 percent only.

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