Kidney Cancer

Kidney cancer is cancer that begins in the kidneys. Your kidneys are two bean-shaped organs, each about the size of your fist. They're located behind your abdominal organs, with one kidney on each side of your spine. In adults, renal cell carcinoma is the most common type of kidney cancer. Other less common types of kidney cancer can occur. Young children are more likely to develop a kind of kidney cancer called Wilms' tumor. The main goals in treating kidney masses is to cure you of the cancer and to protect kidney function where possible. Protecting kidney function is especially important for patients with only one kidney or some other kidney disease. For some patients, surgery will never be needed. For others, surgery may be the best choice. In some instances, you may be advised to have a biopsy of the tumor to learn more about its potential aggressiveness.