Kidney Cancer

Cancer is one of the most devastating chronic diseases in our world today. Cancer of any form can be deadly, and often is not detected early enough for effective treatment. It can invade any organ, any part of the body, at any time, without warning or cause. The most common type of cancer that affects your kidneys is called Renal Cell Carcinoma. The term “renal” refers to kidneys, and “Carcinoma” is another term for cancer. In order to help prevent this cancer, it is important to learn the characteristics of kidney cancer, risk factors for developing it, and lifestyle choices that can be made to modify these risk factors.

“Cancer is an uncontrolled growth of cells that eventually become large enough to make a tumor. Cancer cells have mutations that allow them to divide out of control; the body is often unable to stop this process. The tumor cells become resistant to the natural cycle of growth and cell death, and they secrete proteins that allow the cells to invade other areas of the body. Kidney cancer begins in the kidneys, which are organs that lie in the back of the abdomen, behind the bowels. The kidneys are the main filters of the body. They filter out waste products and carcinogens, transferring them from the blood stream into the urine.” (Campbell, Rini, Izzo, Lane, 2)

Kidney cancer is not one of the most common types of cancer you probably hear about on a regular basis, but it is far from being considered a rare type. “Kidney cancer is diagnosed in more than 51,000 patients each year in the United States, and each year about 13,000 patients will die of this cancer.” (Campbell, Rini, Izzo, Lane, 9) Kidney cancer can be inherited like other cancers, but can also be sporadic as well. According to the Mayo Clinic Staff, factors that can increase the risk of kidney cancer include older age, being male, smoking, obesity, high blood pressure, chemicals in your workplace or environment, and existing medical conditions such as treatment for kidney failure and Von Hippel-Lindau disease. Smokers have a higher risk of developing several different cancers, kidney cancer is just one of them; and high blood pressure and obese people have a higher risk of kidney cancer as well. If your work environment exposes you to certain chemicals or