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New treatments for kidney cancer are being studied all the time. That means there is now more hope for survival than ever before. In this section, we explain the different kinds of treatment and how each one works.
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It helps to learn all you can about your disease and treatment choices. It helps you take an active part in decisions about your medical care. Discuss these choices with your doctor, other healthcare professionals, and loved ones. Your doctor is the best person to answer your questions about treatment. Make sure you ask how the treatment will change your daily life, including your diet, and how you will look and feel after treatment. Ask how successful the treatment is expected to be, and what the risks and possible side effects are. You may also want to ask what your options will be if the cancer comes back, called recurrence.
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You may have just one type of treatment or a combination. Different types of treatment have different goals. Here are some of the types of treatment for kidney cancer and their goals. They're listed from most commonly used to least commonly used.
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Surgery is the most common treatment for kidney cancer. It is the standard of care for kidney cancer that has not spread to other areas of the body. Its goal is to take out the tumor or tumors, while keeping as much of the kidney as possible. Depending on the size of your tumor and where it is, your surgeon may take out all or part of your kidney. In some cases your surgeon may also take out nearby lymph nodes. That's because cancer may travel to the nodes first. Taking out the lymph nodes may help prevent the spread of cancer to other parts of your body.
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You have to be healthy enough to have surgery for it to be a good choice for you. Your doctor may suggest surgery to treat your kidney cancer if any of these cases apply to you. Keep in mind that you may need other types of treatment before or after surgery, such as radiation therapy.
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If your doctor is not a surgeon, he or she will refer you to a urologic surgeon, who will determine what type of surgery you should have done. Before surgery, you'll meet with your surgeon to talk about the procedure. At this time, you can ask questions and talk about any concerns you may have. Here are some things you may want to talk about.
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These are some of the side effects from surgery for kidney cancer. Here's an overview of what you may experience after surgery.
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Your doctor may suggest this treatment for kidney cancer, if one of these situations is true for you.
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This is a newer way to treat kidney cancer. Cryoablation is a less invasive way to treat kidney cancer than surgery. It also allows you to keep your kidney. It is a localized treatment because it affects only the tumor itself, not the whole body.
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This treatment is also called immunotherapy. The goal of biological therapy is to treat the cancer and reduce the chance that it will spread to other parts of the body. This treatment uses proteins made in a lab. These proteins are also made naturally by your immune system. The specific kinds of proteins are called cytokines. You may also hear them called biologics. These proteins work by getting your own immune system to better recognize and attack kidney cancer cells.
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This treatment is used commonly for stage IV kidney cancer when the cancer has spread beyond the kidneys.
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The most common biological treatment for kidney cancer is cytokine therapy. This treatment includes the use of one or both of these lab-created proteins.
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Side effects from biological therapy for kidney cancer can be severe. They usually improve after the treatment ends.
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The goal of radiation therapy is to use high-energy X-rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors or keep them from coming back. This may also ease symptoms, such as bleeding or pain.
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Your doctor may suggest radiation for these reasons. You have stage I or II kidney cancer and cannot have surgery. Radiation is done mainly to ease symptoms.
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External radiation is the most common type for kidney cancer. You can get this on an outpatient basis in a hospital or a clinic. You will not be radioactive afterward.
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Radiation therapy can help you in your fight against cancer. To feel better, get plenty of rest, exercise, and eat well. This will give your body the extra strength it needs right now. Also, look to family and friends for support and comfort.
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Here's an overview of how you may feel after external radiation therapy for kidney cancer.
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Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. It works in more than one way. It can disrupt cell growth, prevent cell reproduction, or cause the body's immune system to destroy the "invader.” The drugs travel throughout your body in your bloodstream, killing rapidly dividing cancer cells.
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At this time, chemotherapy is not a standard treatment for kidney cancer. That's because kidney cancer cells are resistant to most types of chemotherapy. It is used most often to treat kidney cancer that comes back--recurs--after other treatment. Some researchers are studying the use of chemotherapy in high-grade renal carcinomas, which are fast-growing and may be less likely to respond to immunotherapy (biological therapy).
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Most people get chemotherapy in an outpatient part of the hospital, at the doctor's office, or at home. You may go to a special chemotherapy-only clinic. Depending on which drugs you get and your health, you may stay in the hospital during treatment. You may get these drugs in pill form, by injection, or in more than one way. For kidney cancer, these are the most common drugs.
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The side effects from chemotherapy usually go away when the treatment ends. The extent of these side effects varies. It depends on the drugs you receive, how you receive them, and how your body reacts to them. Talk with your doctor or nurse about how to ease these side effects.
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