Kidney cancer, how terminal is it & how do people dye with cancer?

My Mum was diagnosed in May this year with renal cell carcinoma (kidney cancer). Once discovered it had already spread to her liver and lung. She had no symptoms except blood in urine 3 times. The kidney tumor was approx 5cm, the liver had 3 'spots' around 3cm each and the lungs had numerous spots. They took ALONG time to find the primary cancer, 3 biopsies, and heaps of scans. They re scanned her 6 weeks later the tumours had grown so much...... the kidney tum or was bigger than the kidney itself, one of the tumours in the liver was over 12cm and the spots on the lungs had doubled and multiplied. It was so AGGRESSIVE she pasted away sept 7 aged 60 after only a 4 month battle. If kidney cancer is confind just to the kidney you have a better chance of survival, if it spreads it is incurable, inoperable and terminal. Chemo is not used to treat kidney cancer.. Do you know someone who has it?>??? Contact me if you need info i will gladly help

Kidney cancer is the 13th most common cancer in the uk. It has an approx 5 year survival rate of 50% meaning that 50% of those diagnosed will survive for 5 years after first diagnosis.
The way cancer attacks the body is by an uncontrolled mass of cells (a tumour) taking over an organ, in this instance the kidney. The new growth takes vital oxygen and nutrients the normal tissue needs so the healthy tissue surrounding it is killed off and can no longer function properly. Some cells in the tumour may break off and invade other areas of the body. Unfortunatly, the body can't function if multiple organs are taken over by tumours and therefore the organs start to fail.
Hope that helps.

Hi,

my husband was diagnosed suddenly with this about 15 months ago while we were planning our wedding. He was 40 at the time.

He had had a gall-bladder attack, and his gall-bladder was mostly ok, just flared up for an unknown reason, and was quieting down by the time he finally went to the ER. While they were doing the ultrasound at the ER, they went a bit TOO low (still thanking God for this) and they saw his right kidney, the lower part of it....there was a 2 inch mass on it. First they told him "don't worry, most likely just a cyst---they happen, doesn't necessarily mean anything". So, he left, and went to see his regular doc THAT DAY.

His doc saw him, sent him for a CT scan, and to his urologist---from his snip/clip/no-more teenagers surgery 5 years before. THAT urologist was away for vacation, but, his associate was there and available for an appointment in a week (so he would have time to get the CT scan).

Got the CT, at the appointment---NOT a cyst...was a SOLID mass, and that is how we found out it was 2 inches.

WE got the news....it HAS to come out. Laproscopic surgery really isn't an option, as the size of the mass, but, they wanted to see if they could SAVE the kidney. THAT depended on WHERE it sat in the kidney---which structures it touched. They would look at the films and let us know tomorrow. We wouldn't know if it WAS or WASN'T cancer until AFTER surgery AND then until AFTER labs were done on it.

Well, the good news is, with the way this was confined---they checked the location of this and the surrounding areas AND the blood work REPEATEDLY before, as well as after, it was TOTALLY confined to the one kidney, so, no CHEMO, no RADIATION...if it is cancer. SURGERY only....but, big surgery, as it is about a 10 inch incision.

The next day, we got the news....they would take 20% of his kidney, BUT, they were 90% sure they would be able to save his kidney....we both agreed, if ANYTHING was to chance that they felt they couldn't get it all---then they had our permission while in surgery to take it, but, we were so glad they were gonna save the kidney (you need 60% of 1 kidney to live).

Surgery came and went, went well with few complications (pain that he wasn't prepared completely for, and medication reactions, and a VERY noisy hospital, so lack of sleep). Came home earlier than expected even!! 2 weeks later, passed his check up with flying colors and was told the news---stage 1 cancer. BUT, all the markers showed it was only there, no other cancer, no precancer cells anywhere, no mutations, and he had JUST STARTED on it becoming stage 1 cancer.....will never know how or how long he had cancer.

Every 6 months currently he goes for check ups---passed 2 so far, with flying colors---nail biting experiences---bracing for the worst, praying, hoping, pleading for the best. Will continue every 6 months for another year or 2 before going yearly.

We lucked out, as the associate he saw that day, and the one who did his surgery, used to be at a huge cancer center working on kidneys, and trying ways to minimize damage during cancer surgery to them, yet maximize recovery and life span following cancer. He was well versed in this. We asked him a lot about this. He said A LOT of kidney/bladder cancers are missed until they are stage 4 (late) as it is silent, AND there is no big advertising or fund raising campaigns like their are with breast cancer and leukemia, so, their isn't alot of awareness either. People don't know what to look for, don't know anything about it, and their isn't much to see/feel/notice. Most people find it like we did---on a fluke, otherwise, it is after they have been peeing blood for months and UTI medications haven't worked.

Early kidney cancer is treatable/curable. LATE is harder to treat, and the outlook is shorter. But, an early (stage 1) cancer that was caught, treated, and doing well on check ups can live a full life afterwards---long life!!

Hope this answered your questions. Good luck to you.

A friend of mine had it 20 years ago. They did surgery (maybe also rads, but not chemo) and she has been fine ever since.

Anecdotal, I realize, but it's part of the big equation.