Kidney Cancer Treatment

About Kidney Cancer

Kidney cancer originates in the kidneys, which are two bean shaped organs found on either side of the spine, and aid in filtering the blood. As blood passes through the kidneys, waste products & unneeded water is collected into it and is turned into urine. Kidneys also produce three important hormones:

• Erythropoietin: This hormone is responsible for producing red blood cells with bone marrow.
• Renin: This hormone regulates blood pressure.
• Calcitriol: Helps our intestine to absorb calcium from the diet.

Kidney Cancer is one of the ten most common cancers in both men and women.

Types of Kidney Cancer

Renal Cell Carcinoma or Renal Cell Cancer (RCC) is the type of kidney cancer that most people get diagnosed with. Generally, RCC develops in the linings of kidney tubules. Without early diagnosis and treatment, the RCC will grow and will eventually block the tubules.

Also, the cancer may form in both kidneys at the same time. There are a few subtypes of Renal Cell Carcinoma:

• Clear cell RCC: Accounts for 80% of all RCCs. In this, the tumor cells appear clear when they are observed under a microscope.
• Papillary RCC: Second most common form of RCC. Cancer cells in this form of RCC appear pale under a microscope, but tend to be larger in size compared to clear cell RCC.
• Chromophobe RCC: Accounts for less than 1% of all RCC diagnosis. This is a rather aggressive form of RCC and its cancerous cells form irregular tubes inside the tumor.
• Unclassified RCC: This is another rare form of RCC, and the cancerous cells under this cannot be classified based on their appearance alone.

Urothelial Carcinoma

Also known as Transitional cell carcinoma. This develops at an area where the urine is collected in the kidney before it is passed through the bladder. Urothelial cancer is also treated as bladder cancer, because both of them start in the same cells.

Sarcoma

Sarcoma of the kidney is a rare form of cancer. It is formed in the soft tissues that surround the kidney, and there is a chance that it spreads to other distant organs, or other parts of the body after the initial treatment.

Wilms Tumor

This kidney cancer is most common in children, and is treated differently from cancer cases in adults. This is mainly formed when early cells of the kidney do not develop into nephrons or glomeruli. Unfortunately, most cases of Wilms tumor are diagnosed when it has grown more than 3-4 times the size of a normal child’s kidney.

What are the Symptoms of Kidney Cancer?

In the early stages, kidney cancer does not produce any symptoms. However, some patients might notice initial signs of the disease which may include:

• Blood in the urine
• Constant tiredness
• A lump in the abdomen
• Unexplained weight loss
• Fever not caused by flu or cold

Diagnosis

Just like any other disease, a doctor will first start cancer diagnosis by undertaking some medical tests like:

• Physical Exam: This test provides information about signs of kidney cancer and other health issues.
• Urine Test: Microscopic and chemical tests are done on a urine sample to look for small amounts of blood and other substances to diagnose the symptoms of kidney cancer.
• CT Scan: Computed Tomography Scan uses X-rays to produce detailed cross-sectional images of the body. It provides precise information about the size, shape, and position of a kidney tumor if present in the kidneys.
• Blood Tests: Complete blood count (CBC) is done to measure the amounts of different cells in the blood, such as red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. The results of this test are often abnormal in people with renal cell cancer.
• Imaging Tests: This test uses x-rays, magnetic fields, sound waves, or radioactive substances to create pictures of the inside of the body. This test helps learn how far cancer has spread, if the treatment has been effective or not.
• Biopsy: In some cases the doctor may recommend a simple surgical procedure to take out some tissues from the cancer-suspicious area. These tissues are then tested under a microscope to look for any signs of cancer.

What are the Stages of Kidney Cell Cancer

After proper diagnosis, the doctor will find out how much the cancer has progressed in the patient’s body. The cancer staging process is an intricate task and it requires evaluating the regional lymph nodes, and the nearby blood vessels for any signs of cancer penetration.

There are mainly four stages of kidney cancer:

• Stage 1: The cancerous tumor is only located in the kidney, and it’s not larger than 7 cm. It hasn’t spread to the lymph nodes or other distant organs.
• Stage 2: The cancerous tumor is only located in the kidney, and it is larger than 7 cm. It hasn’t spread to the lymph nodes or other distant organs.
• Stage 3: In this stage of kidney cancer, the size of the tumor is larger than 7 cm. At this stage, the progression of cancer may be classified under two forms:
  • The tumor has spread to lymph nodes, but the cancer cells haven’t spread to other parts of the body.
  • The tumor has spread to major blood vessels or perinephric tissues, and may have spread to the nearby lymph nodes. In this stage the cancer cells haven’t spread to distant organs of the body.
• Stage 4: At this stage of kidney cancer the cancerous tumor has spread beyond Gerota’s Fascia and has reached the nearby adrenal glands. It may or may not have spread to the nearby lymph nodes, and hasn’t gotten to the other parts of the body. It has spread to the other organs like bones, lungs or the brain.

What are the Risk Factors of Kidney Cancer?

• Obesity: Being obese will increase your chances of being affected by cancer.
• Smoking: If you smoke, then your risk of cancer could be double to that of a non- smoker.
• Kidney Disease: Having a kidney disease that needs dialysis increases the chances of cancer.
• Genetic predisposition: Some people inherit genes, which make them susceptible towards developing kidney cancer.
• High Blood Pressure: This is another major factor which increases the risk of cancer.
• Age: People between the ages of 50-70 are much more likely to be diagnosed with kidney cancer.
• Gender: Men are much more likely to develop kidney cancer.

Prevention

In order to lower the risk of kidney cancer, keep your kidney’s health in check by implementing some cancer prevention measures such as:

• Staying hydrated: This action will help your kidneys function properly. Dark coloured urine is a sign of dehydration.
• Eating healthy: Eating a good amount of fruits & vegetables helps you prevent many of the symptoms. Consume whole wheat pasta, bread and rice. Avoid oily foods.
• Avoiding excess drinking or smoking: Smoking and drinking alcohol in excessive quantities requires your kidneys to work harder to remove all the toxins from the blood.
• Controlling blood pressure: Get your blood pressure checked regularly. Increase in blood pressure will increase the risk of your kidney problems.
• Maintaining healthy weight: Try to maintain a healthy weight. This action will help you avoid many risk factors causing kidney cancer.

Recurrent Kidney Cell Cancer

There is a chance that the cancer may return after successfully treating it. This is known as Recurrent/Relapsed Cancer. At this relapsed stage, it becomes very difficult to get rid of the cancer, as the cancer tumors may develop in different organs.

However, advancements in medical science are proving to be beneficial to some patients, with treatments that are focused on fighting cancer, as well as relieving pain and maintaining the overall quality of life.

Recurrent cancer will also involve a second round of diagnostic measures,which will help doctors to get an analysis about the cancer’s overall development in the body.

Recurrent kidney cancer is treated in the following ways:

• Palliative surgery (pain relief)
• Nerve blockers to reduce the effect of symptoms
• Clinical trials of new anticancer therapies, immunotherapy or biologic therapy

What are the treatment options for kidney cancer?

Kidney cancer treatment depends on various factors such as the cancer type, cancer cell type, side effects, stage of cancer progression, and the patient’s preferences. Your kidney cancer treatment may include options for treating side effects and symptoms.

It is often treated with surgery to remove, immunotherapy, targeted therapy or a combination of these treatments. Radiation therapy and chemotherapy are also occasionally used for treating kidney cancer.

Treatment of Kidney Cancer Using Immunotherapy

Depending on the age, type of cancer, the spread of the disease and the size of the tumor, experts at Cancer Healer Center plan the treatment procedure accordingly.

The treatment provided at the center is based on the principle of Immunotherapy, a therapy that enhances the body's immune system to fight against cancer. It can be done either by

• Training the immune system to recognize the cancer cell and destroy it.
• Stimulating the immune system to destroy the tumor cells by using antibodies.

Immunotherapy’s main aim is to help cancer patients develop an immune system that can get rid of cancer cells on its own. It may also help patients stay cancer free after going into remission, by stopping any new cancer growth before it is developed into cancerous tumors.

Immunotherapy may be given directly into a vein (intravenously), topically (creams or ointments), or via injections under the skin (subcutaneously)/ Intramuscularly (into a muscle).

Even early or advanced stages of kidney cancer are treated at cancer healer center with good response and success.

Kidney Cancer Treatment, According To Progression of Cancer

There are a number of kidney cancers that a person might get diagnosed with, and a doctor will undertake medical measures in accordance with the particular type of kidney cancer.

The kind of cancer treatment, and its duration will depend on the following factors:

• Type of Kidney cancer
• Progression of cancer in the body
• Type of immunotherapy doctor has opted
• Body’s response to previous cancer treatments

Some forms of immunotherapy are often split in cycles. A medical dosage cycle is a period of treatment, which is then followed by a period of rest. Rest period is essential, as it gives patients time to recover, respond to the medication, and build new healthy cells.

Kidney Cancer Treatment At Cancer Healer Center

At Cancer Healer Center, we focus on providing medicines and treatments that bring marked improvement even in the later stages of cancer. We provide treatments for all types of cancer that can be used in conjunction with other traditional therapies like: Chemotherapy and Radiation therapy. Our treatment will also help patients overcome side effects like hair loss, damage to normal cells, bone loss etc.

Talk with your doctor about the goals of each treatment and what you expect while receiving the kidney cancer treatment. Check out Cancer Healer Center’s website for more details on kidney cancer treatment!