One of the 10 most common cancers in men and women is the kidney cancer or renal cancer. The kidney cells become malignant and form a tumor. Doctors admit that they still don’t know what causes kidney cancer, but there are risk factors.
Dr. Kelly Salvador, oncologist, in an interview on Radyo Klinika at Dwiz 882 AM, says that among the risk factors are: smoking especially cigars; obesity which causes change in hormones; if a person has chronic renal failure; exposure to chemicals, such as asbestos, benzene and herbicides; using pain medications for a very long time; and genetic factors.
It is difficult to say when a person has kidney cancer by just routine checkups, according to Salvador. Ultrasound can detect the changes in the kidneys and its tubes, sometimes, when the tumor is already large.
Symptoms appear when the malignancy is in its advanced stage. Salvador says that a patient may experience stabbing pain at the lower back or at the side of the body, a lump might appear on the side or at the abdomen, blood may appear in the urine, the patient would lose weight or lose his appetite, fever that lasts for weeks, chronic fatigue, anemia, and swelling of the feet and legs.
When found at the early stages, kidney cancer can be treated successfully. At stage 1, the tumor could be 7 centimeters or smaller. And, at stage 2, the tumor is larger than 7 centimeters but still in the kidney or outside the kidney.
Salvador says that there are different approaches in treating kidney cancer. Among them are removing the cancer in the kidney and its surrounding tissue if the patient has small tumor. Or the doctor could remove the whole kidney along with the cancer. Radical nephrectomy would require removing the affected kidney along with the adrenal gland with the surrounding tissue and the nearby lymph nodes.
Other options would be cryotherapy or killing the tumor by freezing it. Using high-energy radio waves through radio frequency ablation can also kill the tumor. Targeted therapy through oral medications can also be used in preventing the cancer cells to grow.
Boosting the immune system through interferon alpha or interleukin-2 have also been tried to kill the cancer cells, but according to Salvador, these methods haven’t been that successful.
He said that what could help the patient in fighting kidney cancer is by boosting the system with vitamin C.
Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling has shown in his studies that vitamin C is an effective anticancer agent. It is an inhibitor of glycolysis, which fuels energy production in the mitochondria of the cancer cell.
The kidneys are vital in cleaning the body of wastes. When a person abuses the body by smoking, eating food with high-cholesterol content that could lead to hypertension and obesity, and exposing the body from harmful chemicals, then the kidneys could suffer.
If you have these risk factors, have your kidneys checked by undergoing urine and blood tests, ultrasound, and if needed and advised by the doctor, go through intravenous pyelogram or CT scan or MRI.
Dr. Kelly Salvador, cancer doctor, holds clinic at Asian Touch Specialty Clinic #34 Wilson St. Greenhills, San Juan City. Telephone number: 872-26291. Facebook: Kelly Salvador.
Radyo Klinika is a KBP Golden Dove Awardee for Best Radio Magazine Program in 2016. It airs every Tuesday to Friday, 7 to 8 p.m. on Dwiz 882 KHZ AM. Connect through Facebook: Radyo Klinika. Or send your messages for guestings at 0918-3502-378 (DWIZ mobile number).
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