kidney cancer
Kidney is one of a pair of organs, whose function is the elaboration and excretion of urine. In humans, kidneys are situated one on each side of the spine, and are embedded in fatty tissue. They are bean-shaped, possessing a convex outer border and a concave inner border.
Kidneys are one of the important organs of the body. It is the kidneys that remove extra water and wastes from the blood, converting it to urine. They also keep a stable balance of salts and other substances in the blood. The kidneys produce hormones that help build strong bones and help form red blood cells. The common ailments of kidneys are kidney stones and kidney cancer. Both the problems are remarkably dangerous and problematic ones.
SYMPTOMS AND CAUSES OF KIDNEY CANCER
The important symptom of kidney cancer is blood in the urine that is known as hematuria. Kidney cancer often causes pain in the loin. In some cases of the disease a hormone called parathyroid hormone is produced. Excess amounts of this hormone cause nausea and sometimes vomiting as well as a need to drink abnormal quantities of water.
As is often he case with cancer symptoms however these are not specific for kidney cancer. For example, blood in the urine or pain on passing urine is most commonly due to infection of the urinary system, while drinking excessive amounts of water and passing excessive amounts of urine may be the initial symptoms of diabetes mellitus. The simple message is. If these symptoms occur consult a doctor and get them checked out.
The cause of cancer of the kidney is unknown though industrial processes that involve the use of cadmium have been implicated.
DIAGNOSIS OF KIDNEY CANCER
Urine tests:
Urine is checked for blood and other signs of disease.Blood tests: The lab checks the blood to see how well the kidneys are working. The lab may check the level of several substances, such as creatinine. A high level of creatinine may mean the kidneys are not doing their job.
Biopsy is the removal and microscopic examination of tissue from a living person for diagnosis of disease. The greatest use of biopsy is in early detection of cancer. In advanced cases, biopsy is used to determine the nature of the malignancy and to reveal the effects of treatment. Biopsy is also used to diagnose other diseases, including neuropathies and myopathies and to determine the cause of chronic infections.
Kidney Dialysis is also known as haemodialysis, medical treatment that is used to remove waste materials from the blood of patients who lack effective renal function. It becomes necessary when kidney function is so severely reduced by disease that the body is unable to dispose of waste materials such as urea and other products of normal metabolism. These accumulate in the blood and eventually lead to a change in the acidity of the blood that is incompatible with survival. In such a situation, the only answer for the patient is to remove the excess waste products from the blood.
Surgery: In most cases, based on the results of the CT scan, ultrasound, and x-rays, the doctor has enough information to recommend surgery to remove part or the entire kidney. A pathologist makes the final diagnosis by examining the tissue under a microscope.
TREATMENT
The mainstay of kidney cancer treatment is surgery. This involves a nephrectomy, an operation to remove the diseased kidney. Surprisingly this does not affect the bodys renal function, the remaining kidney being able to cope with the excretory functions previously performed by its partner. Local external radiotherapy will sometimes be given following the operation.
Radiotherapy
Radiotherapy is an exposure of a defined portion of the body to a source of ionizing radiation, usually for the treatment of cancer. The radiation is either from naturally occurring radioactive isotopes, or from artificially produced X-rays. Treatment involves accurate localization of the tumour and the prescription of multiple daily or periodic, fractions of irradiation for a specified time period. The unit of absorbed dose is the gray and is equivalent to 1 joule per kilogram of body tissue.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the use of drugs to either damage or kills cancer cells. Like the other forms of cancer treatment, chemotherapy has advantages and disadvantages. Its main advantage is that drugs can reach all parts of the body, including areas that may be inaccessible to radiotherapy or surgery. The major disadvantages of chemotherapy are that these necessarily toxic drugs tend, in the main to be non-specific in their effects and can damage normal cells as well as cancerous cells. The drugs are extremely effective in eliminating cells that divide rapidly, which is one of the characteristics of cancerous cells. But there are also other non-cancerous cells in the body which divide quite rapidly in particular the cells of the bone marrow. So these chemotherapeutic agents must be used with caution to avoid serious side-effects on these healthy areas. It is because of the particular problems associated with chemotherapy that the specialty of medical oncology has arisen. Medical oncologists are doctors who specialize in the medical treatment of cancer and they will explain the side-effects of these chemotherapeutic agents. In effect this is a careful balance between, on the one hand, using these chemotherapeutic agents to eliminate cancerous tissue and on the other, minimizing the side-effects that these agents can sometimes have.
SIDE EFFECTS OF TREATMENT
Radiotherapy - Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish he side effects of radiotherapy from the effects of operation and chemotherapy which may be receiving at the same time as radiotherapy. However, it is not at all uncommon to feel tired following radiotherapy. Together with this tiredness there is also sometimes a general loss of appetite and a change in bowel function in particular we may find that diarrhea is a troublesome problem. This can be easily treated by changing diet or taking anti-diarrhea treatment prescribed by the doctor.
Radiotherapy may also affect the upper part of the digestive tract, especially if the treatment has been given either to the chest or to regions of the neck. This may leave with difficulty in eating or swallowing. A change in diet to one of rather more liquid content will usually improve the situation.
Radiotherapy is normally given on an outpatient basis but, either for convenience of travel or for closer monitoring, may be asked to remain as an in-patient. Again do not worry if this happens. This does not denote a particular seriousness of the condition. It just means that for various reasons the radiotherapy treatment will be best received in hospital.
If any side-effects from radiotherapy these will normally clear up within a month following the completion of course of treatment.
Chemotherapy - Chemotherapeutic agents can cause suppression of the bone marrow. This can cause a lowering of the red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. A lowering of red blood cells means that may become anemic, a condition which can give symptoms of fatigue, breathless and occasional dizzy spells.
Anemia can also be a symptom of cancer, however. The combination of cancer, anemia and chemotherapeutic anemia can be quite substantial and may mean having to go into hospital for a blood transfusion.
Platelets are responsible for blood clotting and a deficiency will allow a tendency to bruising or bleeding.
White cells are part of the immune system, which is responsible for combating infection. A lowering of the white cell count will mean that more vulnerable to infection. Any infection that contract while receiving chemotherapy, therefore, should immediately be reported. In some cases the infection will have to be treated with a course of antibiotics.
Chemotherapeutic agents tend to selectively attack rapidly dividing cells. One group of such cells is the cells of the hair follicles. This can mean that chemotherapy sometimes results in the loss of hair, though scalp hair can be temporarily substituted with a wig. In almost all cases the lost hair will re-grow although the texture of the new hair may be slightly different.
Another group of cells that are always rapidly dividing are the cells that line the digestive tract. Such lining cells can be affected by chemotherapy, resulting in diarrhea, though doctor will be able to give medication that will give symptomatic improvement for this problem.
At the upper end of the digestive tract the linings of the mouth and gullet known as the mucous membranes can become sore or ulcerated. Sometimes little white patches can form on these mucous membranes. This is a fungal infection agent called nystatin will eliminate the fungus.
Chemotherapeutic agents may also upset the lining of both the stomach and duodenum resulting in loss of appetite, nausea and actual vomiting. Vomiting can be a serious problem and should not be under-estimated, especially in children receiving chemotherapy where a major problem can be dehydration.
As for the effects upon the ovaries and the testicles, chemotherapy can sometimes result in sterility and this problem must be weighed against the benefits of the treatment.
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