100 Questions & Answers About Kidney Cancer » (1E)

There are 37,000 cases of kidney (renal cell) cancer in the US and 13,000 related deaths annually. 100 Questions and Answers About Kidney Cancer explains all aspects of the disease resulting in full awareness of what to expect when battling kidney cancer.

Introduction     v
Foreword     ix
The Basics     1
Questions 1 to 4 answer basic questions about the urinary system, such as
What is kidney cancer?
Where are the kidneys located in the body?
What do the kidneys normally do?
Causes and Risk Factors for Kidney Cancer     9
Questions 5-21 discuss various types of kidney cancer and the causes
How common is kidney cancer?
Are there different types of kidney cancer?
What causes kidney cancer? Can kidney cancer be prevented?
Evaluation     35
Questions 22-33 discuss important issues in the doctor's office, such as
What are the typical signs and symptoms of kidney cancer?
What kind of doctor should I be seeing?
What tests are usually performed?
Staging of Renal Cell Carcinoma     59
Questions 34-42 deal with staging of kidney cancer and how it spreads
How is kidney cancer staged?
What does tumor grade mean?
Where does kidney cancer spread to?
Do patients die from kidney cancer?
Treatment: Localized Disease     79
Questions 43-57 answer questions regarding treatment of cancer confined to the kidney
How is kidney cancer treated?
What is a radical nephrectomy?
What is laparoscopy?
What other treatment options are there?
Treatment: Locally Advanced Disease     115
Questions 58-63 discuss treatment of locally advanced kidney cancer
What is the treatment for locally advanced (stage III) kidney cancer?
What is an adjuvant treatment?
Treatment: MetastaticDisease     127
Questions 64-71 deal with cancer that has spread beyond the kidney
What are the treatment options for metastatic kidney cancer (stage 4)?
What is the prognosis for patients with metastatic kidney cancer?
What other options are there for metastatic kidney cancer?
Immunotherapy     137
Questions 72-77 deal with the procedure of immunotherapy
What is immunotherapy?
What is a stem cell transplant?
Targeted Molecular Therapy     147
Questions 78-94 discuss various molecular treatments of kidney cancer
What is "targeted molecular" therapy?
How were the targeted molecular agents developed?
What new agents are on the horizon?
Clinical Trials     167
Questions 95-100 aim to help the kidney cancer patient navigate their way through various clinical trials and how to choose the right one
What is a clinical trial?
How do I know that someone is making sure that the clinical trials are conducted in a safe and ethical manner?
How can I learn more about clinical trials?
How can I learn more about kidney cancer?
Glossary     175
Index     183