WHAT IS KIDNEY CANCER?
The urinary tract
Normally, the kidneys filter creatinine from the blood, which the body then excretes through the urine. The bladder receives, stores and empties urine produced in the kidneys and expands as it fills with urine.
Kidney cancer
- Risk factors
- Symptoms
- Diagnosis
- Types
- Staging and classification
The process used to find out whether the cancer has spread through the affected organ or to other parts of the body is called staging. The cancer has spread from the kidney to nearby tissue invading the veins, adrenal gland, or lymph nodes.
Treatments for kidney cancer
- Localised and locally-advanced kidney cancer
- Metastatic kidney cancer
- Clinical trials
If you have chronic kidney disease or kidney damage (your kidneys are unable to filter your blood properly to remove toxins and other waste products), read the recommendations in section 3 ("What changes should I make to my diet if I also have chronic kidney disease?"). To find out if you have this condition, we recommend you talk to your healthcare team.
HOW DOES KIDNEY CANCER AFFECT MY NUTRITIONAL STATUS?
How do I know if I have an optimal nutritional status?
It is also wise for them to assess their food intake and weight changes with their healthcare team to estimate their nutritional needs while they have cancer. Finally, you will undergo a physical examination and analysis to assess your general health and nutritional status.
How do I know if I am undernourished?
With this, you will be able to take appropriate measures to adjust your diet in the event of a worsening of your eating habits. As a rule, you will first be offered nutritional advice and, if this is not sufficient, you will be asked to supplement your diet with oral nutritional supplements, unless there are contraindications.
What can I do to improve my nutritional status?
If you are experiencing nausea (upset stomach) or vomiting (stomach contents traveling back to your mouth), the following recommendations will help you with both. If you have any questions about returning to exercise, don't hesitate to talk to your healthcare team.
LOCALISED KIDNEY CANCER: HOW DO I MAINTAIN A BALANCED DIET?
My diet before surgery
Our general health before starting treatment and our nutritional status (eg, whether we are malnourished or anemic) can affect the prognosis of kidney cancer. If you have been diagnosed with malnutrition and have other diseases such as diabetes, Parkinson's, chronic kidney disease, etc., or have impaired liver function or high blood pressure, you should follow the recommendations of your health care team.
My diet after surgery
Meal options for people with kidney cancer who are at risk of malnutrition after surgery. Yogurt with cookies or a home-made pastry DINNER Couscous with. vegetables and a hard-boiled egg. see recipe) Grouper fish with.
What changes should I make to my diet if I also have chronic kidney disease?
If you have dysphagia, we recommend adjusting the consistency of your meals according to its severity. It is also not suitable if you have mouth discomfort, mucositis, dysphagia*, xerostomia, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea or constipation. If you have mucositis or mouth discomfort, we recommend drinking milkshakes straight from the fridge and avoiding acidic fruits.
We recommend that you do not bleach your hair and if you want to dye it, use natural dyes. As in the previous case, you can paint it if you want, but use only natural colors.
ADVANCED KIDNEY CANCER: HOW DO I MAINTAIN A BALANCED DIET?
What changes should I make to my diet if I have advanced kidney cancer?
If you have advanced kidney cancer, you may experience, either because of the cancer itself or because of the treatments you receive, changes related to your diet, such as loss of appetite, weight loss, anemia, reduced liver function, and even changes in your level of glycemia (blood sugar level), in addition to other side effects such as mouth ulcers, dysphagia*, dysgeusia*, xerostomia, mucositis, vomiting, diarrhea and constipation, all of which may have an effect on your nutritional status. For that reason, it is important to discuss these changes with your specialist and implement some nutritional care strategies early on to help maintain your weight before and during cancer treatment (for more information, see Chapter 2, “How does kidney cancer affect my nutritional status?”). most common nutritional goals at this stage of the disease include controlling disease-related symptoms, reducing the number of infections, improving tolerance to treatments, maintaining independence, and maintaining or improving quality of life.
Keep in mind that the most important thing is to prevent weight loss, although it is also advisable to maintain a good body mass index (BMI) between 18.5-24.9 kg/m2 (as we mentioned in Chapter 2, “ How does kidney cancer affect my nutritional status?”). The general recommendation is to follow a varied diet such as the Mediterranean diet and adapt it to your situation depending on your symptoms. This includes a good protein intake, which is essential at this stage of the disease to maintain muscle mass, which is so important for survival.
You may wonder: how will I know how to best adapt my diet to my particular situation? To help you, we offer some guidelines and advice in the following section, considering the most common side effects and complications that interfere with our diet or nutritional status.
How should I change my diet in case of
If you do not have severe dysphagia, you can choose a soft diet or a diet that is easy to chew without having to mash the food. If you want to thicken the mixed dish, you can add dextrinized flakes*, mashed potatoes, tapioca, corn flour, etc. or commercial thickeners that do not change the taste of the food. Maintain good hydration by adjusting everything you drink (water, juice, soup, herbal teas, milk, etc.) to the recommended viscosity using commercial thickeners that do not alter the taste.
Do not overdo it with fragrances or hot spices because they give off a very strong smell. The following is an example of a weekly meal plan for people with nausea and vomiting (Meal Plan 5). Do not drink alcohol, limit the consumption of tea and coffee, and the main drink should be water.
Below is an example of a weekly meal plan for diarrhea (one with astringent foods), which you can introduce in phase 4 (Meal Plan 6). When making soups, purees or juice, do not strain them to avoid removing the fibers.
What food-drug interactions should I take into account?
Therefore, it is important that you follow the recommendations of your oncology team or pharmacy and tell them if you are taking any food supplements or medicinal plants. If you want the salsa verde to have a thinner texture, mix the ingredients in a blender. Anger is directly linked to the feeling that life, or God if you are religious, has not been fair to you.
HOW CAN I IMPROVE MY QUALITY OF LIFE?
Recommendations for managing other non-nutritional side effects
If you're not sure how to manage and treat them, or if you have side effects other than those we've described, talk to your healthcare team for advice on how to control and manage them. Sometimes the medication or even the disease itself causes fatigue and pain or discomfort in the muscles or joints. Sometimes they also cause other skin problems, such as spots, rashes, dry or itchy skin (an annoying feeling that makes you want to scratch), pale skin and hair.
This is an inflammatory reaction that affects the palms of the hands or soles of the feet and can cause itching, redness, swelling and peeling. Apply sunscreen or wear scarves, caps or hats when exposed to the sun or cold.
Exercise: what are the benefits and what should I do?
Depending on the medications you have been prescribed, your hair may fall out (chemotherapy*) or become thinner and whiter (targeted therapy and immunotherapy). The duration of this process will depend on the general health of the patient, the type of surgery performed (partial or radical) and the technique used (laparoscopy or open surgery), as we explained previously (for more information, see section 3: “Treatments for Kidney Cancer”, in Chapter 1 of this guide). It is normal to lose your physical fitness, endurance and muscle strength while you have cancer, especially as a result of the treatments.
Do not be discouraged, because once you have fully recovered, you can resume your normal routine and activities. However, we recommend that you speak to your healthcare team before starting an exercise plan, as it is important to adapt it to suit your specific situation as some of the side effects of surgery, and also of the treatments, can last for a long time. time or not appear until further down the line. Also keep in mind that you may need help with everyday activities during this time.
Your healthcare team will advise you on the ideal intensity according to your physical condition.
My emotions while I have cancer
Facing these emotions head on is essential for us to deal with them in the best possible way. If you or your immediate family have children, we encourage you to involve them in the process, give them age-appropriate information and always give them the opportunity to ask questions. It refers to a catheter (thin and flexible tube) usually inserted into a vein in the chest.
There are hundreds of lymph nodes in the body that are connected to each other by lymphatic vessels. Cystic kidney disease: an inherited disorder that causes cysts (fluid-filled sacs) to develop, mainly in the kidneys. To be the national benchmark in defending the interests of people with kidney diseases.
The Spanish Association against Cancer (AECC) has been the leading organization in the fight against cancer for 68 years. The Spanish Group for the Development of Oncology Pharmacy (GEDEFO) was established at the end of 1995 with the aim of creating a specific framework to facilitate training in the field of hemato-oncology and to promote collaboration and the exchange of knowledge and experience. in this field among hospital pharmacists.
