Symptoms

Main symptoms of kidney cancer

Often there are no obvious symptoms of kidney cancer. It's usually diagnosed when testing for something else.

When there are symptoms, they can include:

blood in your pee
a lump or swelling in your back, under your ribs, or in your neck
pain between your ribs and waist that does not go away
loss of appetite or losing weight without trying to
feeling tired or having no energy
a high temperature that does not go away
sweating a lot, including at night

Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from 111 now if:

your pee is smelly, cloudy or has blood in it
it is painful to pee or you need to pee suddenly or more often
you have a pain in your back, under your ribs that does not go away
you have pain in your genitals
you have a lump or swelling in your back, under your ribs, or in your neck

It's important to get help as soon as possible as the symptoms can be similar to a kidney infection, which can be serious if it's not treated quickly.

Get&t=s.uk/">Get help from 111 online or call 111.

See a GP if you have:

lost a noticeable amount of weight
a high temperature that does not go away
no energy or extreme tiredness (fatigue)

Important

Some of these symptoms are common and can be caused by many different conditions.

Having them does not definitely mean you have kidney cancer. But it's important to get them checked by a GP.

This is because if they're caused by cancer, finding it early can mean it's more treatable.

What happens at the GP appointment

The GP may examine you to feel any lumps or swelling in your back or neck.

They may ask you to give a pee sample or have a blood test.

Referral to a specialist

You may get an urgent referral for more tests or to see a specialist in hospital if the GP thinks you have symptoms that could be cancer. This does not definitely mean you have cancer.

Find out more

Cancer Research UK: seeing your GP with symptoms of kidney cancer

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