Treatment

Surgery is the main treatment for kidney cancer.  If the cancer has spread and surgery is felt to be inappropriate we may use drugs that can control the cancer.

We run joint clinics where you will be seen by a urologist (a surgeon who specialises in treating kidney cancer) and/or an oncologist (a medical doctor specializing in the treatment of cancer with chemotherapy, radiotherapy and other drugs).

In these clinics you will also be seen by a nurse specialist who can give you further information and support.

In early stage kidney cancer (cancers that are still confined to the kidney) surgery is usually done with the aim of curing the cancer.  Sometimes additional treatments are given following surgery to help minimise the chances of it coming back.  This is currently being done as part of a clinical trial and our Clinical Trials Nurse will discuss this with you if necessary.

In advanced stage kidney cancer (cancers that have spread beyond the kidney) the aim of treatment may be only to control the disease and improve quality of life.  However this does often still mean removing the kidney with an operation.