Kidney cancer at UK Markey Cancer Center
Markey’s kidney cancer team provides advanced and timely diagnosis and individualized, ongoing care for patients. Each patient is cared for by a team of specialists who meet regularly to discuss individual patient cases and treatment plans. This multidisciplinary team will work with you and your doctor to coordinate a care plan designed to offer the best outcomes.
Markey has provided state-of-the-art cancer care for more than 30 years, and we are proud to be the only cancer center in Kentucky designated by the National Cancer Institute. Since 2017, Markey Cancer Center has been nationally recognized as a top 50 cancer center by U.S. News & World Report.
Kidney cancer can cause a variety of symptoms, including:
- A mass or lump on the side or lower back
- Blood in your urine
- Fatigue
- Loss of appetite
- Low back pain
- Recurrent fevers
- Swelling of your ankles and legs
- Weight loss
According to the American Cancer Society, the five-year survival rate for kidney cancer that has not spread to other parts of the body is 93 percent. When it has spread to a nearby region, the survival rate is 73 percent. For kidney cancer that spreads throughout the body, the survival rate drops to 13 percent.
You can lower your risk of cancer by taking steps to build a healthy lifestyle. Here are some ways you can lower your risk for this disease, as well as improve your overall basic health:
- Avoid using tobacco products. Tobacco has been tied to multiple cancers, and it is responsible for 90 percent of lung cancer deaths.
- Stay physically active. Your physical activity is related to risk for colon and breast cancer. Excess weight gained from inactivity increases the risk of multiple cancers.
- Limit alcohol consumption. It is important to be mindful of how much alcohol you drink. Alcohol intake, even in moderate amounts, can increase the risk for colon, breast, esophageal and oropharyngeal cancer.
- Learn about screenings. Your primary care doctor can recommend appropriate cancer screenings based on your age, personal risk and family history.
- Age. The risk of kidney cancer increases as you age. Kidney cancer occurs most often in people age 55 and older.
- Your sex. Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is about twice as common in men as in women.
- Smoking. Smokers are twice as likely to get kidney cancer as nonsmokers.
- Obesity and diet. Being overweight and having a high-fat diet increase your risk.
- Genetic and hereditary factors. Having kidney disease or a family history of kidney cancer puts you at greater risk.
- High blood pressure. Risk for kidney cancer is elevated in people with high blood pressure.
Five inherited diseases result from a faulty gene that increases kidney cancer risk:
- Birt-Hogg-Dube syndrome.
- Hereditary leiomyomatosis.
- Hereditary papillary RCC.
- RCC syndromes.
- Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome.
- For your first visit, you will be directed to the multidisciplinary clinic on the first floor of the Whitney-Hendrickson Building. Directions to the Whitney-Hendrickson Building.
- You can register at the front desk or registration area, where a Markey team member will help guide you through your appointment.
- Several parking options are available to patients of Markey Cancer Center.
- Please remember to bring your patient packet with the completed forms. These items will help your doctor learn more about your case and determine the best plan for your care.
- To meet our patient needs, UK HealthCare accepts many forms of insurance.
Clinical trials are research studies aimed at evaluating medical, surgical or behavioral interventions to determine if a new treatment is safe and effective.
At UK Markey Cancer Center, we are advancing cancer care and research to prevent, detect and treat cancer – one patient at a time. As a patient at Markey, you have a team of people looking at your individual case, applying the most recent cancer knowledge to give you the best chance of survival.
Markey has more open clinical trials than any other cancer center in the region, giving you access to some of the most advanced options available. Learn more about ongoing clinical trials for treating kidney cancer below.
