RENAL CANCER MEDICINE, TREATMENTS, AND GUIDANCE IN ANCHORAGE, AK

UNDERSTANDING RENAL CANCER TREATMENT

The staff at Alaska Oncology and Hematology, LLC in Anchorage, AK, understands you may have lots of questions when it comes to renal cancer. That’s why we’re dedicated to going above and beyond to get you the answers you need for treatment. By producing urine, the kidneys are the organs in charge of removing waste from circulation. The kidneys also produce hormones that govern blood pressure and red blood cell formation. Several important hormones are produced by the adrenal glands, which are situated directly above the kidneys. Blood pressure, inflammation, metabolism, and stress response are all regulated by adrenal hormones.

Small amounts of androgens and estrogens, the sex hormones, are also produced by the adrenal glands. If both the kidney and adrenal glands operate normally, the body can function flawlessly with just one of them. This makes it possible to eradicate cancer that has spread to the kidney region by removing a full kidney and an adrenal gland when needed. It might not be possible for a patient to remove one kidney and maintain normal function if they already had poor kidney function prior to contracting kidney cancer.

NORMAL ANATOMY

The average person has two kidneys. Urine is produced by the kidneys and enters the bladder through tiny tubes known as ureters. With one kidney on each side, the kidneys are situated at the rear of the flank. Gerota's fascia is the fibrous sheath that encloses the kidney. The kidney is surrounded by a layer of fat contained inside this fascia. Comparable to the red outer shell of an apple, the capsule is a thin layer covering the kidney's exterior. The vena cava, which carries blood to the heart, meets with the renal vein, the main vein that drains the kidney. "Renal" refers to having to do with the kidney. Within Gerota's fascia, an adrenal gland is situated above each kidney.



The kidney can develop a variety of tumors, both benign and malignant. An abnormal region inside the kidney is called a kidney tumor. Tumor, lesion, and mass are frequently used synonymously. Malignant (cancerous) or benign (not cancerous) tumors can occur. A cyst is a fluid-filled kidney tumor, which is the most frequent form. Simple cysts show up normally on imaging investigations and are benign. Simple cysts typically don't need to be treated further and don't lead to cancer. Complex cysts may contain malignancy and might not always appear benign. The necessity for therapy is assessed on an individual basis when complicated cysts are present. Solid kidney tumors are a different kind of kidney tumor (i.e. not fluid-filled). Solid kidney tumors are typically cancerous, though they can also be benign. As a matter of fact, almost 90% of solid kidney tumors are malignant.


About 13,000 people die from kidney cancer annually in the United States, where it represents 4% of all cancer cases. Although it can strike at any age, kidney cancer is typically detected between the ages of 50 and 70. It is slightly more common in men. Renal cell cancer is the most prevalent kind of kidney cancer in adults.

SYMPTOMS

Due to their lack of symptoms, kidney tumors frequently go undiagnosed and are only discovered by chance when a different condition is being evaluated by a doctor. When kidney tumors squeeze, strain, or invade surrounding or internal organs, symptoms may result. These processes can produce pain in the flank, belly, or back, as well as little amounts of blood in the urine that may not be noticeable. The organ that is affected determines the symptoms if cancer spreads to areas other than the kidney. Cancer in the lungs can cause shortness of breath or blood in the cough; cancer in the bone can cause pain or fractures; and cancer in the brain can cause neurological symptoms.


Paraneoplastic syndromes are related clinical or laboratory disorders that are occasionally caused by cancer. These symptoms can appear at any stage and are seen in about 30% of kidney cancer patients. Clinical signs and symptoms include fever, sweating, elevated blood pressure, appetite loss, and weight loss. High calcium levels in the blood, abnormal liver function tests, elevated alkaline phosphatase in the blood, low red blood cell count (anemia), higher erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and high white blood cell count are among the laboratory results. After the malignancy is removed, the paraneoplastic syndrome often goes away.

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