Many kidney cancers do not cause symptoms; they are found incidentally during a scan, X-ray or ultrasound that was ordered for another problem.
When kidney cancer does cause symptoms, these can be non-specific; that is, many of the symptoms that kidney cancer might cause can be mistakenly attributed to other causes, like a urine infection or a muscle twinge.
Most kidney cancers do not cause pain until the advanced stages when they have started to spread. Many people with kidney cancer are not aware they have a tumour until they have a test for another health problem.
However, always talk to your doctor if you are experiencing any of these signs or symptoms:
- blood in the urine or changes in urine colour to dark, rusty or brown (haematuria)
- lower back, abdominal or flank pain that is not linked or related to an injury
- weight loss
- newly developed high blood pressure
- constant tiredness
- fever or night sweats that are not linked with any other conditions.