Hereditary?

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

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

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.

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

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

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,

Donna~