Kidney Cancer Treatment
cancer of the kidneys
treatment of kidney cancer
Image by prep4md via Flickr
Kidney cancer treatment is used when cancer has formed in the tissues of the kidney. This includes cancer that develops in the lining of the tiny tubes in the kidney responsible for filtering blood and removing waste products. It is called renal cell carcinoma. This cancer will also develop in the middle of the kidney where urine collects and is called renal pelvis carcinoma. Also included is Wilms tumor. This is a form of kidney cancer that usually attacks children under 5 years old.
There are many different options when it comes to kidney cancer treatment. These will be discussed with you by your doctor and treatment team. Some factors that will be taken into consideration are your overall health, what type of kidney cancer you have, whether or not it has spread, and what type of treatment you would prefer. The choices will be narrowed down to the following:
* Nephrectomy which is the removal of the affected kidney.
* Nephron- sparing surgery which means that the tumor will be removed from the kidney.
* Embolization which is the procedure of blocking the flow of blood to the tumor.
* Cryoablation which is the kidney cancer treatment involving freezing the cancer cells.
* When surgery cannot remove the entire tumor, it can still be done to remove as much of the tumor as possible.
* Biological therapy where drugs targeted at using the immune system to fight the cancer are administered. These have some pretty serious side effects.
* Targeted therapy or treatment that targets particular portions of the cancer.
* Clinical trials are closely monitored group studies that introduce the cancer to a new treatment. These may or may not work, depending on how evolved the treatment is.
If you begin to show symptoms that make you suspect you may have kidney cancer, see your doctor immediately. Kidney cancer treatment will be much more effective if it is detected in the early stages. This is true of most cancers and it makes sense that when something is caught in the beginning it is easier to stop it.
How fast you are able to be diagnosed will make all the difference in the world as to what sort of treatment you end up needing. You and your doctor will need to talk about the best options for treatment as the patient needs to be as involved in this as possible.
Tagged with: kidney cancer
Filed under: treatment for cancer
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