Sometimes, people living with kidney cancer get chills, feel colder than usual, or find that they’re more sensitive to the cold. This can lower your quality of life and overall sense of wellness, especially if you feel like you can’t get warm.

If this is happening to you, read on to learn why you might feel cold and how to warm up.

Why Do You Feel Cold With Kidney Cancer?

People with all types of cancer might feel colder than others. There are a few reasons why this can happen. Here’s what you need to know so you can have a better understanding of what’s going on with your body.

Anemia

People with cancer are more likely to have anemia. This happens when you don’t have enough red blood cells to carry oxygen around your body. Inflammation caused directly by cancer can cause anemia.

People with kidney cancer might be especially prone to anemia, as the kidneys produce a hormone called erythropoietin that tells your body to make more red blood cells. If they aren’t doing this as well because of cancer, then you may end up with anemia.

People with anemia, in turn, may struggle with cold intolerance. They may feel colder than others around them, even when dressed warmly. This isn’t usually the only symptom, as people may also look pale, have headaches or chest pain, or feel short of breath when dealing with anemia.

Weight Loss

If you’re living with advanced cancer, also called metastatic cancer, you might lose a significant amount of weight. This can happen because you lose your appetite and don’t eat enough or because you can lose a lot of muscle mass with advanced cancer.

If you’ve lost a lot of weight, particularly muscle and fat, you might feel colder than you did before because you don’t have those layers to insulate your body.

Advanced Cancer

Advanced cancer, or stage 4 cancer, can also affect how cold you feel without affecting your body weight. It may cause problems with the system in your body that regulates your body temperature.

When that happens, you might end up feeling cold even when outdoor temperatures are high. You may have other temperature issues, too, like being too warm or having your body temperature fluctuate.

Can Kidney Cancer Treatments Make You Feel Cold?

Treatments for kidney cancer can also make you feel colder than normal. Different people experience different side effects from these medications, so you may feel cold because of treatment even if you know other people who didn’t experience that.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy isn’t used very often to treat kidney cancer. It’s usually used when other therapies aren’t working or in advanced cancer, when it can help alleviate pain, stop other symptoms, and generally help with your quality of life.

If you do happen to be on chemotherapy for kidney cancer, it may be causing you to feel cold. This is called cold dysesthesia, and it’s more common when using some chemotherapy drugs than others.

Cold dysesthesia is a very specific sensation. You might experience significant discomfort or even pain whenever you’re exposed to cold temperatures. This can involve cooler outdoor temperatures, but it can also happen when you do something like drink a cold beverage.

Cold dysesthesia usually starts soon after you receive your chemotherapy medication, but it can also start up to a few days later. It usually lasts longer in people who’ve been receiving chemotherapy for a longer time.

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy is sometimes used to treat advanced kidney cancer. These medications aim to boost your body’s own immune system to fight cancer.

Some kinds of immunotherapy lower the levels of your thyroid hormones by causing thyroid gland inflammation. These hormones control how your body converts food to energy and a variety of processes related to that. When thyroid hormones are low, you might experience a number of common symptoms, including becoming more sensitive to cold.

Immunotherapy can also affect your adrenal gland. The hormones it produces help your body with a lot of functions, such as dealing with stress, regulating blood pressure, and converting food to energy. When the adrenal gland becomes inflamed from treatment, you might lose your appetite and lose weight, which can make you feel cold.

Immunotherapy can also inflame your pancreas. This can lead to stomach pain, nausea, and vomiting.

You may lose your appetite from pain and nausea, or you could lose weight from not eating enough or from vomiting. Losing a lot of weight can make you feel colder than normal.

Cancer, Illness, and Feeling Cold

Both cancer and some cancer treatment options can raise your chances of getting sick. Both can affect your immune system, so they can make it harder for your body to fight off invaders like viruses and bacteria.

If you happen to get an illness that causes a fever, you might suddenly feel cold or get the chills. If you think you’re sick, monitor yourself carefully. Infections can be more serious for people living with cancer than they are for others.

If you have severe symptoms, symptoms that keep getting worse, or symptoms that don’t improve after a few days, talk to your healthcare provider.

Your oncologist or someone else on your cancer care team can figure out what’s causing your infection so you can get the best possible treatment. When you feel better, your cold and chills should be gone.

How To Get Warm if You’re Feeling Chilly

There are a few steps you can take if you’re feeling cold because of kidney cancer or treatments for it. If you’re cold, try:

• Paying attention to what makes you cold and taking the time to avoid those factors
• Staying inside whenever possible during cold weather
• Drinking warm beverages, using a towel to grab cold handles, and dressing in layers
• Noting where your air-conditioning vents are and positioning yourself away from them
• Turning your air-conditioning down or turning your heat up
• Heating your car before getting in
• Avoiding cold foods and drinks
• Warming the coldest parts of your body first, which could help your whole body warm up
• Taking shallow breaths when you’re in cold air until your body is used to it

Each of these small steps can help you feel a little bit warmer. When you add those little bits up, you may warm up and feel better.

Join the Conversation

On MyKidneyCancerTeam, people share their experiences with kidney cancer, get advice, and find support from others who understand.

How have you experienced cold or other temperature changes while living with kidney cancer? Let others know in the comments below.