What are the symptoms of kidney cancer?
Blood in urine
You may have no symptoms at first when the tumour is small. In many cases, the first symptom is to pass blood in the urine ('haematuria') which is usually painless. The blood in the urine may 'come and go' as the tumour bleeds from time to time. (There are many causes of blood in the urine apart from cancer such as bladder or kidney infections, inflammation of the kidney, kidney stones, etc. You should always report this symptom to your doctor, even if it goes, to clarify the cause of the bleeding.)
Other symptoms
Various other symptoms may occur, typically as the tumour becomes larger, and include:
- Pain or discomfort in the side or back of the abdomen ('loin pain').
- Fever (high temperatures) and sweats.
- A swelling in the area over a kidney.
- Anaemia, which can cause tiredness.
- Some renal cell tumours produce abnormal amounts of certain hormones. This can lead to problems such as:
- Too many red blood cells being made (polycythaemia).
- High blood pressure.
As the cancer becomes larger you may feel generally unwell and lose weight. If the cancer spreads to other parts of the body, various other symptoms can develop.
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