Hereditary?

nicmarie75
nicmarie75 Member Posts: 57 Member
in Kidney Cancer #1

I lost my mom to this cancer in Jan 99 she lost her battle the day after 42nd bday after only 4 short months from her Dx. She was a smoker I think that contributed to her getting this. I just turned 41 in Feb and my anxiety about this disease has gotten worse. :-/ 

Comments

  • icemantoo
    icemantoo Member Posts: 3,361 Member
    #2
    Put mind at ease

    nicmarie,

     

    From what I have seen on this board the Hereditary factors of Kidney Cancer are not very common or conclusive. A physical exam testing your blood and kidney function should help. You could see if a doctor would order an ultrasound for any pain you may have in the area. No doctor is going to order a CT scan without more to go on like blood in the urine. There are companys offering preventative CT's for a price.

     

    Others may chime in with their thoughts. Remember Kidney Cancer caught early is close to 100% fully curable. from surgery alone. No chemo unless it is caught late and has spread.

     

    Icemantoo

  • todd121
    todd121 Member Posts: 1,448 Member
    #3
    Genetic Testing

    Genetic kidney cancer is not common at all. First of all, kidney cancer in general is rare. On top of that, 90% of kidney cancer is not genetic. It's caused by changes in DNA not inherited/passed on to children. So, unless you have more than one family member that had this, it's very unlikely you inherited it.

    Still, they've identified several of the genes that cause inherited kidney cancer. You can go get genetic testing. I'm not sure if you're insurance company will pay for it, but you could check into it. Mine will pay to get mine tested (but I didn't yet) because I have cancer. In your case since it's not likely, I'm not clear. If you go to a cancer center, ask to talk to a genetic testing counselor. They can answer your questions.

    I have a contact in Los Angeles.

    You should be able to put your mind at ease. It's not very likely you will get kidney cancer with one family member that had it. Still, if you want to know if you're predisposed, go get the genetic testing. Then you'd know whether to be closely followed so it's caught early. The earlier they catch it, the better.

    The other thing is they've done tons and tons of research on genetic kidney cancer. It's probably the best understood form of kidney cancer. If you're going to get kidney cancer, this could be the best kind to have. The scientists at NIH really have a good handle on it

    Wishing you the best,

    Todd

  • MrsSC
    MrsSC Member Posts: 2
    #4
    Just like my Mom

    My mom and I both lost our left kidney to cancer! We also are both Brown eyed,Brown hair, and both left handed. She is now in the early stages of Alzheimer's.

  • dhs1963
    dhs1963 Member Posts: 513
    edited July 2016 #5
    todd121 said:

    Genetic Testing

    Genetic kidney cancer is not common at all. First of all, kidney cancer in general is rare. On top of that, 90% of kidney cancer is not genetic. It's caused by changes in DNA not inherited/passed on to children. So, unless you have more than one family member that had this, it's very unlikely you inherited it.

    Still, they've identified several of the genes that cause inherited kidney cancer. You can go get genetic testing. I'm not sure if you're insurance company will pay for it, but you could check into it. Mine will pay to get mine tested (but I didn't yet) because I have cancer. In your case since it's not likely, I'm not clear. If you go to a cancer center, ask to talk to a genetic testing counselor. They can answer your questions.

    I have a contact in Los Angeles.

    You should be able to put your mind at ease. It's not very likely you will get kidney cancer with one family member that had it. Still, if you want to know if you're predisposed, go get the genetic testing. Then you'd know whether to be closely followed so it's caught early. The earlier they catch it, the better.

    The other thing is they've done tons and tons of research on genetic kidney cancer. It's probably the best understood form of kidney cancer. If you're going to get kidney cancer, this could be the best kind to have. The scientists at NIH really have a good handle on it

    Wishing you the best,

    Todd

    Genetic kidney cancer may be more common...

    In Iceland, where they have better and longer familial records, studies have shown the majority of kidney cancers appear to be familial.  http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/store/10.1002/ijc.10513/asset/10513_ftp.pdf;jsessionid=2E87B05B562DA5E18D56BE87EFE6F353.f03t01?v=1&t=iqurssuc&s=5aea57705df643486e75dac631b5890af3186083

    The causitive genes are not known, limiting the ability to test.  More to the point, talking to the experts at NIH, thier thinking is, in many cases, multple genes need to allign.  They have identified a few genetic conditions (e.g., VHL), but...

    With one family member, I would try to find an excuse for a CT scan, or at least an US. In my case, even though my Dad and Grandfather both had RCC, my Dr. would not order any studies.  My 6 cm tumor was found as an incidental finding on an CT in an ER because of severe abdominal pain.

     

  • Bay Area Guy
    Bay Area Guy Member Posts: 620 Member
    #6
    I came across this website

    I came across this website when I was searching for herditary kidney cancer.  The site says it's quite uncommon, but does occur.  It then has some steps to take if you are concerned.

    http://www.cancerguide.org/rcc_hered.html

    I can't vouch for the accuracy of the site since, as we have all unfortunately found, there's a lot of misinformation on the internet.

     

  • foxhd
    foxhd Member Posts: 3,181 Member
    #7
    My mom

    was on dialysis. My older sister found out she only had 1 kidney and was on dialysis. I got kidney cancer. Coincidence or genetics?

  • Lisa1K
    Lisa1K Member Posts: 7
    #8
    Common Environmental Exposures or Diet

    Common environmental exposures and/or diet could be a cause for what might seem like heredity. Just a thought.

  • Ladylacy
    Ladylacy Member Posts: 773 Member
    edited July 2016 #9
    Kidney Cancer/Cancer Period

    Our youngest son at 41 was diagnosed with kidney cancer.  No one else in our families have ever had kidney cancer.  He is not a smoker or drinker.  He had his kidney completely removed and so far is 7 years clear.  My youngest sister is a 13 year survivor of triple negative breast cancer and no one in our families ever had any kind of cancer.  Then cancer hit and hit hard.  My mother's youngest sister died of esophgeal cancer and my husband passed from throat cancer, but he was a smoker and heavy drinker of beer.  So go figure who gets cancer and survives and who doesn't.  I have talked with many people undergoing treatment while I waited on my husband undergoing treatment -- many were not smokers or drinkers and many were.  To me it is all from the preservatives they use in food.  Over the years several of our neighbors have passed from different types of cancer -- lung for one and they didn't smoke. 

    Same goes to those that have heart disease something that runs in the women in my mother's side of the family.  People blame weight for that but that's not true either as my mother was a very small person as were two of her sisters.  Skinny people die from heart disease and diabetes as do heavy people. 

    My inlaws lived a long and healthy life and they were farmers.  All food was fresh or canned by them.   They say we all have the cancer gene and it all just depends what gets it started.

    Wishing everyone the peace and comfort

  • Footstomper
    Footstomper Member Posts: 1,237 Member
    edited July 2016 #10
    Testing

    My bro got himself tested and was cleared. A weight off his shoulders and mine

  • hardo718
    hardo718 Member Posts: 853 Member
    #11
    I have to agree Ladylacy

    Our food sources are tainted....preservatives, hormones, pesticides, etc.  So much of our food is processed now.   Worse yet, the soil used to grow the food we eat & the animals are fed (which we eat), are nutrient deficient.  It's hard to know a lot of the time if our food is GMO or Non-GMO, cause no one wants to talk about it.  And God only knows what's in the chem-trails being dropped on us.  It's a crap shoot who it will affect and who it won't. 

    Just as a for instance, I'll speak to what I know as the dirty little secret of Pulmonary Medicine.  I'm a former Respiratory Therapist.  Our soils used to be magnesium rich.  That's an essential for our bodies to function efficiently.  Asthma and the like are more prevalent than ever and most people are more deficient in this nutrient than ever.  (magnesium is responsible for relaxing smooth muscle tissue.  Our lungs consist of smooth muscle tissue, as well as the bowel, etc)  The university hospital I worked at did extensive research with kids in this particular area and studies proved, those with magnesium supplements had less episodes of asthma attacks than those without supplementation.  These kids were able to resume activity they'd been limited to, and had much less hospitalizations. 

    I won't pretend to know all the answers but I sure think our environment has a lot to do with our health, or lack thereof.

    Stepping off my soapbox now.  Thank you very much, Wink

    Donna~

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