Diagnosing Kidney Cancer

These tests confirm the presence or absence of cancer. If cancer is detected the tests also show whether it has spread to other parts of the body. These include:

Ultrasound Scans

Computerised Tomography (CT) Scan

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Scan

Cytoscopy

Biopsy

The different Stages of Cancer

The presence of cancer, once confirmed by medical tests is given a stage. The stage identifies the extent to which the cancer is spread in the body. TNM system is used to stage kidney cancer. It consists of three numbers:

T (tumour) - It describes the size of tumour. It has a scale from 1 to 4 depending on the size of the tumour.

N (node) - It describes if cancer cells are present in the lymph nodes. It has a scale from 0 to 2 depending on whether the cancer has spread to nearby lymph glands.

M (metastases) - marked as 0 or 1 depending on whether the cancer has spread to other parts of the body or nearby organs.

Coping with the diagnosis

At aastha Kidney Hospital we understand it can be a very difficult coping if you have been diagnosed with cancer. The news may be very difficult to digest. Once the initial shock of realising you have cancer has waned, a number of emotions might take over. It is common to experience sadness, confusion, denial, guilt, anger and stress. For some they may have severe anxiety, fear about the future and depression. During such times support of family and friends makes a huge difference. Talking to a psychiatrist or other people which are going through the same can help considerably. 

The experienced doctors and trained nursing staff at Aastha Kidney Hospital specialises in dealing with all aspects of cancer. The warmth and emotional support extended by them at the hospital along with proper medical care is a great encouragement available whenever you need.