The Kidney Cancer Support Center

The Journey:
Just Found Out
Dealing With It
Recover & Thrive
Worst Case

Facing the Initial Impact of Kidney Cancer

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Kidney Cancer

Every person is unique, but when you face a challenge like kidney cancer, you are never alone. Countless men and women, and even some children, have faced exactly the same diagnosis and have survived and thrived. The following guide is designed to help you navigate your journey with the best information and resources that helped other survivors when they faced the same challenge.

TSC has scoured the Web to assemble the links to the very best kidney cancer resources: articles, blogs, forums, and tools that can help you make better decisions and take action to overcome the range of physical, emotional, and other challenges that you're facing now.

As you’ll see, we always welcome your ideas and suggestions to make this kidney cancer guide even more helpful to survivors like you.


JUST FOUND OUT

Survivors Say: The Best Resources for Kidney Cancer

The Big Picture

In the United States about 50,000 kidney cancer diagnoses are made each year, according to the American Cancer Society, and there are more than 200,000 survivors of the disease alive today in the U.S. Kidney cancer is also known as renal cancer or renal cell carcinoma. 

Signs and Symptoms

Your Kidney Cancer

Mayoclinic.com offers a thorough overview of kidney cancer, as does the Kidney Cancer Association:

Understanding Your Symptoms

This is the place to learn more about the signs of kidney cancer:

How to Determine if You Need a Second (or Third) Opinion

Kidney cancer is a serious and complex condition, so you may find that you want a second (or third) medical opinion about your diagnosis and/or your treatment plan. Here's some advice about how to get a good one: 

Caring4Cancer.com: Take Time for a Second Opinion

Questions You Should Ask Your Doctor

Your World

Learning that you have cancer is frightening, even terrifying. But try not to let your emotions take over; there are many thousands of kidney cancer living today and research is advancing treatment all the time. Here's how to find support as you go:

Kidney Cancer Myths

Cancerlinksusa.com: Understanding the Facts and Myths of Kidney Cancer

Below are a few common myths surrounding kidney cancer:

  • "The only treatment for kidney cancer is organ removal."
  • "Eating meat can lead to kidney cancer."
  • "Drinking coffee and tea can cause kidney cancer."

Dealing With Kidney Cancer

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What Types of Treatments are Available?

Medical Treatment

Surgery is the most common treatment for most types of kidney cancer. Your doctor may advise removing all (what's called a nephrectomy) or part of your kidney. Other options may include embolization or cryoablation. Some patients may be given chemotherapy (drugs), radiation therapy, biologic therapy and/or targeted therapy. This Kidney Cancer Association page discusses the various types of surgical treatment:

Sometimes kidney cancer isn't caught in its early stages. This Kidney Cancer Association article discusses likely medical treatment if your cancer is diagnosed at a more advanced stage:

Therapies for Advanced Kidney Cancer

Lifestyle Changes 

There are several ways to prevent the worsening or recurrence of kidney cancer, including making nutritional changes:

Cancer Treatment Centers of America: Kidney Cancer and Nutrition

Side Effects of Treatment

If your doctor does prescribe chemotherapy, here's some help with managing its side effects, from Chemocare.com:

Chemotherapy Side Effects

This American Cancer Society page discusses what to expect if you receive radiation therapy:

Radiation Therapy Effects

How Do I Receive Help Without Being a Burden to My Family or Friends?


Educate your family about the symptoms and treatments for kidney cancer. The more they know the more able they are to help you and understand your struggle. The support of those who love you will provide encouragement when you need it most.

What Kind of Doctors Do I Need?


Specialists who treat kidney cancer include doctors who specialize in diseases of the urinary system (urologlists) and doctors who specialize in cancer (medical oncologists and radiation oncologists), says the National Cancer Institute.

Resources to Find Doctors

Questions To Ask About Your Health Coverage

  • Will I be covered for diagnosis and treatment for my kidney cancer?
  • What isn't covered?
  • Will my rates increase?
  • Will I be limited to certain doctors and treatment facilities?

Books Suggested by Survivors

Keeping the Lines of Communication Open Between You and Your Health-care Providers

  • Let your doctors know what you’re feeling physically and emotionally as your recovery progresses.
  • Make sure you understand all the steps of your treatment plans and why each one is important.
  • Take time to talk through possible effects and what you can do to ease them, and when to tell you're doctor if they're not easing.

Information for Co-Survivors

How to help

  • Get connected with other kidney cancer co-survivors.
  • Share your survivor's story of recovery from kidney cancer.
  • Assist others in raising funds for awareness or research for kidney cancer.

What to say

  • Offer information about kidney cancer from reliable sources.
  • Tell your survivor that you're there to support them.
  • Encourage thoughts of recovery

What not to say

  • Don't discuss information or treatment options you are unsure of.
  • Don't focus on negative statistics.
  • Don't sugarcoat your or your survivor's experience of cancer; it's natural that some days will be much tougher than others -- the challenge is not to get stuck in a downward spiral.

Things you can do for a survivor today and every day

  • Be available for contact as they need you.
  • Share inspiring stories of survival.
  • Celebrate smaller milestones in treatment, or just a day of feeling good.

How to build a support network

  • Set up a TSC co-survivor profile .
  • Join a support group or forum.
  • Educate your friends and family about kidney cancer.

Recover & Thrive

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Remission / Recovery / Recurrence

Once you've finished treatment for kidney cancer and have been declared cancer-free, you'll be ready to go back to your life - not that life will be the same as before you were diagnosed with cancer. You will need to keep regular check-up appointments with your doctor and stick to a healthy lifestyle to maximize your chances for staying cancer-free for years and decades to come. Here are some excellent resources to help you make the transition to life as a survivor:

Give Back


You can help other survivors thrive by sharing your struggle into recovery. Take the time to join a support group or volunteer to help someone who's been newly diagnosed - your words of wisdom and understanding could be a big source of encouragement and inspiration to someone else.

Worst Case

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End of Life

Sometimes, treatment for kidney cancer is not successful, or cancer returns (a recurrence) and there is nothing more medicine can do. If you are in this very difficult situation, use these resources to help you make the decisions you need to now:

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