Renal cell carcinoma is the most common form of kidney cancer. It can take time to full process a diagnosis and what, exactly, it may mean. Developing a good undersrstanding of your disease –nd especially the diagnostic process – can help you set realistic expectations and take an active part in your treatment plan, say your treatment plan, call Uologist at Mayo Clinic.

The kidneys are two bean-shaped organs located on Each side of the spine. The Kidneys perform a few important functions for the body, including filtering waste and managing acid and fluid balance. The kidneys help maintain a delicate balance of water, salt and minerals in the blood and help ensure that all systems in the body function correctly.

Renal cell carcinoma typically develops as a single tumor in one kidney. Rarely, people have two two or more tumors development in one or both kidneys. In the early stages of disease, kidney cancer does not usually cause any symptoms. As the disease programs, however, certain symptoms may develop, such as anemia, weight loss, night sweets and fever, blood in the urine, blood in the urine, in the site or bank.

Because there is initially so few symptoms, Kidney Cancer is often a Surprising Diagnosis – Particularly because People with the Condition May Be Feeling Complety An estimated 50% of all kidney cancers are discovered by chances, meaning Unfortunately, there are currently no screening tests available for kidney cancer, notes Dr. Leibovich.

As part of the evaluation of a kidney tumor, your care team may use blood and urine tests, computerized Tomography (CT), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), or other imaging scans. Sometimes, a biopsy is performed to obtain a tissue sample. These Tests Help Determine The Clinical Stage of the tumor, which is represented with a number – 1, 2, 3 or 4 – second indicate how extended the disease is believed to be.

At stages 1 and 2, the cancer is limited, also called logalized, to the kidney, says Dr. Leibovich.

“At Stage 3, The Cancer Involves Other Tissues, Such as the Fat Surrounding the outside or inside of the kidney, or blood vessels that drain the kidney, for example,” He Says.

At Stage 4, The cancer has spores beyond the kidney. This type of cancer program also is also called metastatic cancer or metastatic disease. Most people are diagnosed in the earlier stages of disease. Between 2009 and 2015, 65% of Renal Cell Carcinomas Were Still Localized to the kidneys.

You may also hear the term tumor grade, but this isn’t as a cancer stage. Tumor Grade Describes how aggressively a kidney cancer is expected to behave, Dr. Leibovich explains. To determine the grade, the cancer cells are examined under a microscope to see how different they look from noncancerous cells. Just like with the cancer stage, the tumor grade ranges from 1 to 4. Grade 1 and 2 cancers are expected to behave less aggressively, While Grade 4 means Cancer Cells are aggressive.

Thought it may sound intimidating to rate cancer on different scals, staging and grading are tools that help you and your care team determine the best positive treatment plan.

It can be overwhelming to discus –nd sometimes even keep up with –new medical information. Don’t be afraid to ask your care team to slow down, reepeat key information or repHrase something you don’t undress. You also May Consider Writing Down Your Most Pressing Questions Before Speaking with Your Health Care Team and Taking Notes DURING Your DISCUSION.

To help you start, Dr. Leibovich recommends asking the following questions:

• How likely is my tumor to be cancerous versus benign?
• What additional testing do I need?
• What is the Clinical Stage of the Cancer?
• What is the range of treatment options available? Is it possible the tumor requires observation only?
• Why do you recommend certain treatments over others? What are my alternative options?
• What is the expected outcome of treatment?
• Should I Expect Changes to My Quality of Life? How So?
• How likely am I to be cured?

Dr. Leibovich say that for most people, a renal cell carcinoma diagnosis does not usually impact quality of life. And for certain people, Dr. Leibovich says it may even be possible to cure the cancer altoology.

“More than 60% of that with renal cell carcinoma are cured with surgery alone, thought success rates are very dependent on multiple factories,” He says.

Treatment options have advanced dramatically over the past few decades.

“Even in cases of advanced disease where we could not have done much Certain People, “Dr. Leibovich says. “For people that we can’t cure, we are now able to keep them going long enough that the new generation of drugs hopefully