Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scan
MRI scans may be done when a person cant have the CT contrast dye because they have an allergy to it or they dont have good kidney function. MRI scans may also be done if theres a chance that the cancer has grown into major blood vessels in the abdomen , because they provide a better picture of blood vessels than CT scans. Finally, they may be used to look at abnormal areas in the brain and spinal cord that might be due to cancer spread.
Increase The Risk Of Diabetes
Not only can high amounts of sugar lead to unhealthy weight gain, but it can also put you at risk of diabetes. Sugar is indirectly associated with Type 2 diabetes due to the association between high sugar consumption and obesity.
According to the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition , high amounts of sugar lead to obesity, one of the major contributors to Type 2 diabetes.
Although prevailing theories show the indirect link of sugar to diabetes, Stanford Medicine discovers the direct association between the two factors.
In a study between diabetes rates and sugar supply, results show that diabetes rates surged with the increase of sugar supply in a population.
If you still like to try some mass gainers, read the label and select one that offers a great mix of fat, protein, and carbohydrates.
Some of these brands offer very high calories, so you should make modifications to the serving size so that you conform to your calorie requirements for weight increase. You must check your blood sugar weekly to determine any changes in your blood sugar levels.
Diagnosed With Kidney Cancer
We understand the anxiety that a diagnosis of kidney cancer can bring to the patient and their family. The most important thingone can do is to learn about this disease and enlist the help of an experienced team of physicians.
About 1/3 of kidney cancers are diagnosed after the disease has spread to other organs.
The first step is to obtain a “staging” evaluation to determine the extent of cancer. This typically entails obtaining imaging of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis and comprehensive blood work. Bone scans and evaluations of the brain are obtained depending on symptoms and the results of the initial studies.
PET scans are rarely obtained due to their lack of sensitivity for detecting kidney cancer.
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What Does A Mass On Your Kidney Mean
Ask U.S. doctors your own question and get educational, text answers â it’s anonymous and free!
Ask U.S. doctors your own question and get educational, text answers â it’s anonymous and free!
HealthTap doctors are based in the U.S., board certified, and available by text or video.
What Are Common Symptoms Of Having A Mass On Your Kidney
Having a mass or tumor on a kidney is often accompanied with other symptoms such as bloody urine, appetite loss, flank pain, weight loss and fatigue, states WebMD.com. It can also cause anemia and swelling in the limbs.
If the mass on the kidney is a malignant tumor and the cancer has spread to other organs, common symptoms include shortness of breath, bone pain and coughing blood, explains WebMD.com. Before a doctor can determine if a kidney mass is cancer, tests must be done to diagnose the disease such as blood and urine tests, a CT scan and MRI, and a renal arteriogram, If the mass is a tumor, the size determines the stage of kidney cancer. For instance, a mass smaller than 3 inches is stage 1 cancer and more treatable than a mass that has spread to the tissue around the kidney.
The mass can be removed depending on the size, states WebMD.com. A patient with a tumor that is smaller than 1 1/2 inches can undergo a partial nephrectomy in which just the mass and some of the surrounding tissue is removed. Larger masses require removal of the entire kidney or even the nearby adrenal gland and lymph nodes. In some cases, the tumor is treated with extreme cold or radio waves.
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Understanding The T Word
The term tumor refers to an area in an organ that is not typically supposed to be there. A tumor may also be referred to as a mass, lesion, neoplasm or cyst. All of these terms mean the same thing, but none of them indicate whether or not a tumor is cancer. Often, tumors are found accidentally when an individual is undergoing x-rays for other reasons. Sometimes, they are found when investigating why a patient is experiencing side pain or blood in the urine.
Kidney cysts are closed pockets of tissue, filled with fluid, that develop in the kidneys. Multiple cysts can develop, or a single cyst. Kidney cysts can develop more or less spontaneously with no underlying cause, or they may develop as a result of a condition such as polycystic kidney disease or multicystic kidney dysplasia. The development of so-called âsimpleâ kidney cysts becomes more common in older people: up to 30% of those aged 70 and over have one or more cysts.
Complex kidney cysts are so-called because of their irregular shape. Another difference between simple and complex cysts is that complex kidney cysts often have âenhancedâ tissue, meaning that within the cyst, there is tissue that has access to a blood supply.
What Are The Stages Of Kidney Cancer
Your prognosis depends on your general health, as well as the grade and stage of your kidney cancer.
These are the stages of kidney cancer. The higher the stage, the more advanced the cancer.
Stage I
- A tumor 7 centimeters or smaller that is only in the kidney
Stage II
- A tumor larger than 7 centimeters that is only in the kidney
Stage III
- A tumor that is in the kidney and in at least one nearby lymph node
- A tumor that is in the kidney’s main blood vessel and may also be in nearby lymph node
- A tumor that is in the fatty tissue around the kidney and may also involve nearby lymph nodes
- A tumor that extends into major veins or perinephric tissues, but not into the ipsilateral adrenal gland and not beyond Gerota’s fascia
Stage IV
- Cancer has spread beyond the fatty layer of tissue around the kidney, and it may also be in nearby lymph nodes
- Cancer may have spread to other organs, such as the bowel, pancreas, or lungs
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Cancer has spread beyond Gerota’s fascia
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How Much Protein Should You Be Eating Per Day
In recent years, many people have begun to increase their protein intake in an effort to aid weight loss and/or build muscle, but how much protein should you be eating every day?
Though the ideal amount of protein you should be consuming is slightly uncertain – the most common recommendation is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. So if you weighed 60kg, youd need about 48g per day.
Before starting a new diet plan, its important to seek medical advice and speak with your healthcare provider.
If youre concerned about your kidney health, its important to make a trip to the doctor for a check-up.
If you want to know more about your kidney health, including your kidney function and its performance, you can take an at-home Kidney Test with LetsGetChecked. This test will indicate how your kidneys are performing by measuring levels of urea, creatinine, and eGFR. High levels of urea, creatinine and a low eGFR can indicate acute or chronic kidney disease.
You should take the test if:
- You have a high protein diet
- You have used or are using performance-enhancing drugs
- You are taking anti-inflammatory medication
- You suffer from high blood pressure
- You suffer from diabetes
- You have suffered an acute injury
- You have persistent urinary tract infections
- You have a kidney disease or a family history of one
- You have kidney stones or a family history of them
Managing Gout And Chronic Kidney Disease
Managing gout when you have chronic kidney disease can be challenging, as some gout medications can affect your kidney disease. Further research is still needed to address gouty arthritis and CKD. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen and naproxen are recommended among the treatments for acute gouty arthritis episodes. However, CKD patients arent recommended taking NSAIDs since they can worsen or cause acute kidney injury. Meanwhile, the dosage for the pill colchicine to treat gout is lowered for CKD patients. Note: Before taking any medicines, talk to your primary health care provider to ensure they are safe for your kidneys.
Besides taking medications, changing your lifestyle can help manage your gout attack symptoms or prevent them from happening. A few lifestyle changes you can do include:
- Reduce consuming food and drinks high in purine. Eating less animal protein minimizes the uric acid level in the body, decreasing the risk of gout flares and kidney stones.
- Stay hydrated, unless your doctor recommended restricting your fluid.
- Manage health conditions such as high blood pressure, obesity, high blood sugar, and heart disease. These conditions are risk factors for gout.
- Review medication and supplements with your healthcare professional, since some medications are known to impact the level of uric acid.
- Sweat it out to manage weight and blood pressure. .
- Reduce alcohol intake, especially beer, due to its high purine content.
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Causes Of Complex Kidney Cysts
A complex kidney cyst can develop as a secondary manifestation of a simple cyst. Such relapse occurs as a result of complications such as infection or bleeding, and also as a result of the proliferative process .
As is the case with simple kidney cyst formation, different types of complex kidney cyst can give similar pictures on medical ultrasound diagnosis. Therefore, it is not possible to make an accurate diagnosis without additional examinations.
However, the timely detection of a complex kidney cyst with using ultrasound is already important in the successful treatment. Features indicating the presence of cystic formation during ultrasound diagnostics:
thickening and irregular contour of the cyst wall
presence of partitions
the presence of seals or solid elements in the tissues present in the plural
distinct vascularization .
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A Mass Or Lump Around Your Abdomen
A mass or lump in the abdomen, side, or back can also be a sign of kidney cancer. You might feel a hard thickening or bulging bump under your skin.
But kidney lumps are hard to feel, especially in the early stages. Thats because the kidneys sit deep in the abdomen. You may not even see or feel the lump as the tumor grows.
If you do discover a lump, a doctor or other HCP will likely order diagnostic tests, such as an ultrasound or a CT scan. These tests may help determine the cause of the lump. Youll typically need a biopsy to confirm the diagnosis.
Keep in mind that not all lumps are cancer. If youre concerned about a lump around your abdomen, a doctor or other HCP can offer guidance and information about next steps.
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Tests For Kidney Cancer
Your doctor may do some tests to check for kidney cancer:
- urine tests for signs of kidney cancer
- blood tests to check your general health.
Your doctor might ask you to have further tests. These are some the tests you may have:
- ultrasound a scan on the outside of your abdomen to check for cancer
- CT scan a scan that takes pictures of the inside of the body
- MRI scan a scan that uses magnetism and radio waves to take pictures of the inside of the body
- bone scan a scan that uses dye to show changes in your bones
- cystoscopy the doctor puts a small camera into your bladder to see inside
- biopsy the doctor takes a small sample of the cells from the kidney to check for signs of cancer.
How Can Gout Contribute To Kidney Disease
There is evidence that gout can lead to kidney disease, although the connection is less established. Gout happens when there is a great amount of uric acid crystallizing, resulting in joint inflammation. These crystals technically consisted of sodium urate, but they are generally referred to as uric acid crystals. Crystals often appear in the joints, but they also accumulate in the outer ear, the skin near the joints, and the kidneys.
The crystals can cause damage and scars as they pass through the kidneys. This damage to the kidneys is thought to contribute to kidney disease and failure over time, especially if the gout is left untreated. However, some people with high concentrations of uric acid levels in the blood do not develop gout and even when they do, they can go for years without manifesting any symptoms.
Uric acid can still build up in the body even with normal kidney function. If the kidneys couldnt filter uric acid effectively, uric acid can accumulate in the blood, which can lead to gout.
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Diagnosis And What To Discuss With Your Doctor
Youll need to have a biopsy before a diagnosis of kidney lymphoma can be confirmed. You might have a biopsy done on just your kidney or on your lymph nodes and bone marrow as well. Your doctor will let you know what tests are needed.
It helps to know what to expect if you receive a cancer diagnosis. These questions should help you start to understand your diagnosis and what comes next:
- What is the stage of my kidney lymphoma?
- What exactly does that stage mean in my case?
- What are my treatment options?
- Why is the doctor recommending those options?
- What are the potential risks and side effects of those treatment options?
- What would happen if I did not pursue treatment or waited to pursue treatment?
- How long will treatment take?
- Will treatment impact my daily life?
- What happens if these treatments do not work?
- Are there any financial resources available to help pay for treatment?
- Are there any mental health resources available?
treatment plan for your kidney lymphoma depends on multiple factors, including the stage at diagnosis and your overall health. Treatment options might include:
Risk Factors For Kidney Cancer
There are some things that can make you more likely to develop kidney cancer. These are called risk factors and they include:
- smoking chemicals in cigarettes can cause kidney cancer. Around one in three cases of kidney cancer may be due to smoking
- obesity excess body fat may cause changes in certain hormones that can lead to kidney cancer
- high blood pressure
- kidney failure people with end-stage kidney disease
- family history people who have family members with kidney cancer, especially a sister or brother
- inherited conditions about 2 to 3% of kidney cancers occur in people who have certain inherited syndromes, including von Hippel-Lindau disease, hereditary papillary RCC and BirtHogg-Dubé syndrome
- exposure to toxic substances at work the risk may be higher after regular exposure to some chemicals, such as some metal degreasers, arsenic or cadmium.
Having these risk factors doesnt mean you will develop kidney cancer. Often there is no clear reason for getting kidney cancer. If you are worried about your risk factors, ask your doctor for advice.
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Kidney Tumor With Suspicion Of Spread
You may have been told that the kidney cancer has spread. This could be to lymph nodes, the lungs, liver, bone, or even the vena cava â the largest vein in your body.
About 1/3 of patients find that the cancer has spread even without any symptoms.
For those with symptoms, you may have experienced abdominal or back pain, blood in the urine, bone pain, seizures, or even bad headaches. After a full evaluation of the extent of spread a treatment plan should be formulated.
This can get quite complicated and a multidisciplinary team who specialize in kidney cancer would be best to help with this. It is important that an urologist and medical oncologist collaborate in constructing an optimal plan for your care. This multidisciplinary approach is most important for cancers with a high suspicion of spread! This is because today there are numerous options and combinations for patients with metastatic kidney cancer.
These options can include:
Surgery In certain settings, removal of the kidney even when the cancer has already spread has been shown to improve survival. This can often be done laparoscopically so the patient can recover rapidly and promptly receive additional therapy.
Immunotherapy IL-2 can be a good option for some patients and can deliver excellent results for some patients. Interferon-alpha is another option.
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About Kidney Cancer: Symptoms Causes And Assessing Your Risk
Elizabeth Plimack, MD, MS is proud to be a part of a team of distinguished researchers who have pioneered many of these new treatments. Her particular research efforts focus on the development of new therapies for bladder and kidney cancer.
Kidneys clean the blood to filter out waste and produce urine. They also make hormones that help control blood pressure and signal for bone marrow to make red blood cells when needed.
Almost all kidney cancers are carcinomas, which start in cells that line the inner or outer surfaces of the body. In the kidneys, carcinomas most often start in the lining of the renal tubules, which remove excess water and waste from the blood to make urine. This is called renal cell carcinoma, which accounts for more than 90 percent of kidney cancer. Kidney cancer is often found before it spreads, but left undetected, it can grow and spread to other organs.
Less common types of kidney cancer include:
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