Kidney Cancer Health Article

Coping with cancer treatment

Side effects of treatment, as well as nutrition, emotional well-being, and other complications, are all parts of coping with cancer. There are many possible side effects for a cancer treatment that include:

• constipation
• delirium
• fatigue
• fever, chills, sweats
• nausea and vomiting
• mouth sores, dry mouth, bleeding gums
• pruritus (itching)
• sexuality
• sleep disorders

Anxiety, depression, loss, post-traumatic stress disorder, sexuality, and substance abuse are all possible emotional side-effects. Nutrition and eating before, during, and after a treatment can also be of concern. Other complications of coping with cancer include fever and pain.

Clinical trials

There are many clinical trials in place studying new types of radiation therapy and chemotherapy, new drugs and drug combinations, biological therapies, ways of combining various types of treatment for kidney cancer, side effect reduction, and improving quality of life. Immunostimulatory agents and gene-therapy techniques that modify tumor cells, antiangiogenesis compounds, cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors, and differentiating agents are all being investigated as possible therapies. Consult <http://ClinicalTrials.gov> and your doctor for a list of kidney cancer clinical trials.

Prevention

The exact cause of kidney cancer is not known, so it is not possible to prevent all cases. However, because a strong association between kidney cancer and tobacco has been shown, avoiding tobacco is the best way to lower one's risk of developing this cancer. Using care when working with cancer-causing agents such as asbestos and cadmium and eating a well-balanced diet may also help prevent kidney cancer.

See Also Renal pelvis tumors; Von Hippel-Lindau Syndrome

Resources

BOOKS

Berkow, Robert, ed. The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy, 16th ed. Rahway, NJ: Merck Research Laboratories, 1997.

Dollinger, Malin, Ernest H. Rosenbaum, and Greg Cable. Everyone's Guide to Cancer Therapy. How Cancer Is Diagnosed, Treated, and Managed Day to Day. Kansas City: Andrews McMeel, 1998.

Murphy, Gerald P., Lois B. Morris, and Dianne Lange. Informed Decisions: The Complete Book of Cancer Diagnosis, Treatment and Recovery. New York: Viking, 1997.

Scher, H.I., and R.J. Motzer. "Renal Cell Carcinoma." In Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. Fauci, Anthony, et al, eds. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1998.

PERIODICALS

Dutcher, J.P. "Immunotherapy: Are We Making a Difference?"Current Opinion in Urology (September 2000): 435-9.

Godley, P.A., and K.I. Ataga. "Renal Cell Carcinoma." Current Opinion in Oncology (May 2000): 260-4.

Halperin, E.C. "Kidney Cancer." Lancet (February 1999): 594.

Vogelzang, N.J., and W.M. Stadler. "Kidney Cancer." Lancet(November 1998): 1691-6.

ORGANIZATIONS

American Cancer Society (National Headquarters). 1599Clifton Rd. NE, Atlanta, GA 30329. (800) 227-2345. <http://www.cancer.org.>

American Foundation for Urologic Disease. E-mail: admin@afud.org. Cancer Research Institute (National Headquarters). 681 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10022. (800) 992-2623. <http://www.cancerresearch.org>.

Kidney Cancer Association. 1234 Sherman Ave., Suite 203, Evanston, IL 60202-1375. (800) 850-9132. <http://www.kidneycancerassociation.org>.

National Cancer Institute. 9000 Rockville Pike, Building 31, Room 10A16, Bethesda, MD 20892. (800) 422-6237. <http://www.nci.nih.gov>.

National Kidney Cancer Association. 1234 Sherman Ave., Suite 203, Evanston, IL 60202-1375. (800) 850-9132.

National Kidney Foundation. 30 East 33rd St., New York, NY10016. (800) 622-9010. <http://www.kidney.org>.

American Urological Association. 1120 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21201. (410) 727-1100. <http://www.auanet.org/patient_info/find_urologist/index.cfm>.

Lata Cherath, Ph.D.

Laura Ruth, Ph.D.

Biopsy

—The surgical removal and microscopic examination of living tissue for diagnostic purposes.

Bone scan

—An x-ray study in which patients are given an intravenous injection of a small amount of a radioactive material that travels in the blood. When it reaches the bones, it can be detected by x ray to make a picture of their internal structure.

Chemotherapy

—Treatment with anticancer drugs.

Computed tomography (CT) scan

—A medical procedure in which a series of x-ray images are made and put together by a computer to form detailed pictures of areas inside the body.

Hematuria

—Blood in the urine.

Immunotherapy

—Treatment of cancer by stimulating the body's immune defense system.

Intravenous pyelogram (IVP)

—A procedure in which a dye is injected into a vein in the arm. The dye travels through the body and concentrates in the urine to be discharged. It outlines the kidneys, ureters, and the urinary bladder. An x-ray image is then made and any abnormalities of the urinary tract are revealed.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

—A medical procedure used for diagnostic purposes in which pictures of areas inside the body can be created using a magnet linked to a computer.

Nephrectomy

—A medical procedure in which the kidney is surgically removed.

Primary tumor

—A cancer's origin or initial growth.

Radiation therapy

—Treatment with high-energy radiation from x-ray machines, cobalt, radium, or other sources.

Renal ultrasound

—A painless and non-invasive procedure in which sound waves are bounced off the kidneys. These sound waves produce a pattern of echoes that are then used by the computer to create pictures of areas inside the kidney (sonograms).