Kidney Cancer Causes and Treatments

Kidney cancer is a great problem in the United States. Kidney cancer affects men about twice as often as women. Most people who contract kidney cancer are over the age of 50. The causes of Kidney Cancer are still unknown. It can seldom be explained why one person gets this kidney cancer and another doesn't. Kidney cancer is not contagious. Kidney cancer is not something that you can “catch” from another individual. Some people have developed kidney cancer after using the pain killer called “Phenacetin.” Phenacetin is no longer sold in the United States. 

There are certain jobs that have proven to put people at higher risk for kidney cancer.  Oven workers and men and women that often work with or around asbestos are far more likely to get kidney cancer than other people. Scientists are still trying to study these workers and are beginning to study other occupations as well. 

Smoking is a major of kidney cancer. Smokers are twice as likely to get kidney cancer as nonsmokers. Smoking is thought to cause more than one-fourth of all kidney cancers in the United States. People who smoke are also more likely to get lung cancer, cancer of the mouth, throat, larynx (voice box), esophagus, bladder, and pancreas. Although the reason is unknown, research shows that being overweight can increase the chance of getting cancer. Kidney cancer may be one of them. Maintaining ideal weight could possibly reduce the risk of cancer and other diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure.