Stage 4 kidney cancer, understanding the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment

Stage 4 kidney cancer, understanding the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment

Cancer has become a fairly common disease that can take on fatal proportions if it is not treated in time. Kidney cancer is one of the various kinds of cancers that happen when there is a build up of abnormal cells due to the presence of toxins in this region of the body. This starts when a tumor begins to manifest due to the growth of abnormal cells and toxins in one of the kidneys. This is also known as renal cancer and it progresses over various stages to finally reach stage 4. Let us find out more about the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment for this stage of kidney cancer.

The Various Stages of Kidney Cancer: There are four distinct stages of kidney cancer. The first stage is one where the tumor is still contained in the kidney and the symptoms are still not that obvious. Stage two is the phase where the tumor increases in terms of centimeters until it starts to progress beyond the kidney in terms of the spread and risk factors that it carries. Stage three and four are the crucial stages that can bring in fatalities because this is where the tumor begins to progress into the major veins of the body.

Stage Four: Stage four kidney cancer has various implications. Apart from being the most advanced stage of the condition, it also implies that the tumor has progressed and entered the lymph nodes. The first part of the body to get affected during the stage four of the disease is the adrenal gland, where the tumor first begins to spread. This stage means that the cancer has metastasized into the various organs of the body, especially those that lie in and around the kidneys.

Symptoms: All the stages of this kind of cancer come with their own symptoms and signs. The most common symptoms that a patient would experience during stage four kidney cancer includes the frequent urge to urinate even though there will be problems in doing so. Also, blood discharge in the urine and pain in the abdomen are some of the other symptoms that are commonly experienced. Also, there will be lot of bleeding and fatigue as the disease progresses to the other organs as well.

Treatment Options: There are a number of treatment options that one can resort to, in case there is a decent outlook for recovery. This includes surgery and other such treatment methods. Most doctors maintain that surgery is not the best option for stage four kidney cancer because by this stage, the cancer has already spread to several parts of the body and it would not be advisable to have surgery for all these organs. This is due to the fact that the immunity of the body is low and recovery is bleak when so much surgery happens on the body. Further, there is a constant threat of falling prey to infections as well. Other options include embolization and radiation.