Kidney cancer / renal cancer

We have two kidneys, one on each side of our spine at the back wall of the abdomen, just behind the lower rib cage at the back. The kidneys are part of the urinary system and their job is to filter the blood by removing waste products out of the blood and turn it into urine. The urine is then transported from the kidneys down to the bladder via two long thin tubes called the ureters. We don´t know the exact cause of why people develop kidney cancer but there are some factors that can increase the risk of getting it. Both obesity and smoking are important risk factors for developing kidney cancer and family history can also have a role. As with many cancers, exposure to chemicals can increase the risk and other diseases that affect the kidneys can also increase people´s risk of developing this type of cancer. There are several types of kidney cancer with renal cell cancer being the most common. Please see below if you want to find out more.

To help you find answers to some of your questions, we have linked to Maggie’s CancerLinks where you will be signposted to high quality information about kidney cancer / renal cancer. The information on these websites is not written specifically for young people but it is written using simple language in a way that most people will be able to understand. Don’t worry if there are lots of links to different websites. Have a look on the description of the links and very often you will find the information you are searching for on the first website that you look at. If you just want general information about cancer you could read the ‘About cancer’ section on riprap.

Remember that the information on these sites is general. Within each cancer type, there are different variations, different stages, different treatments and people may also respond differently to the same treatments. Each person is an individual and because of this, generic information may not fit the situation you are thinking of. Often your parents or someone else who knows the details can answer your questions best. Also, please feel free to get in touch with us here at riprap. We can help you sorting through information or discuss things you’ve heard or read or anything at all that’s on your mind.

Don’t forget that there are lots of effective treatments for cancer these days and many cancers can be completely cured. There are also very good treatments to control cancers that cannot be cured and research is going on all the time to find new treatments that can control and cure cancers.

Page updated 17 July 2017