Kidney Cancer Information
Symptoms
In its early stages, kidney cancer usually causes no obvious signs or troublesome symptoms. However, as a kidney tumor grows, symptoms may occur. These kidney cancer symptoms may include:
Blood in the urine. Blood may be present one day and not the next. In some cases, a person can actually see the blood, or traces of it may be found in urinalysis, a lab test often performed as part of a regular medical checkup.
A lump or mass in the kidney area.
Other less common symptoms may include:
- Fatigue;
- Loss of appetite;
- Weight loss;
- Recurrent fevers;
- A pain in the side that doesn't go away; and/or
- A general feeling of poor health.
High blood pressure or a lower than normal number of red cells in the blood (anemia) may also be a sign of kidney cancer; however, these symptoms occur less often.
These possible kidney cancer symptoms may be caused by cancer or by other, less serious problems such as an infection or a cyst. Only a doctor can make a cancer diagnosis. People with any of these possible kidney cancer symptoms may see their family doctor or a urologist, a doctor who specializes in diseases of the urinary system. Usually, early cancer does not cause pain; it is important not to wait to feel pain before seeing a doctor.
In most cases, the earlier cancer is diagnosed and treated, the better a person's chance for a full recovery.
