What are the symptoms?

Most people with kidney cancer have no symptoms and many are diagnosed with the disease when they see a doctor for an unrelated reason. Symptoms can include:

• blood in the urine (haematuria) or change in urine colour – can be dark, rusty or brown
• pain in the lower back or side not caused by injury
• a lump in the abdomen
• constant tiredness
• unexplained weight loss
• fever (not caused by a cold or flu).

Cancer can affect the amount of hormones produced by the kidneys, and this may lead to a low red blood cell count (anaemia), a high red blood cell count polycythaemia) or high levels of calcium in the blood (hypercalcaemia). Sometimes these problems can cause symptoms such as fatigue, dizziness, headaches, constipation, abdominal pain and depression.

The symptoms listed above can also occur with other illnesses, so they don’t necessarily mean you have kidney cancer – only testing can confirm a diagnosis. If you are concerned, make an appointment with your general practitioner (GP). 

Which health professionals will I see?

Your GP will arrange the first tests to assess your symptoms. If these tests do not rule out cancer, you will usually be referred to a specialist such as a urologist. The specialist will arrange further tests. If kidney cancer is diagnosed, the specialist will consider treatment options. Often these will be discussed with other
health professionals at what is known as a multidisciplinary team (MDT) meeting. During and after treatment, you will see a range of health professionals who specialise in different aspects of your care.