If you’ve been diagnosed with kidney cancer, you’re a survivor. Cancer survivorship begins at diagnosis and continues throughout and after treatment. While many people don’t take advantage of survivorship programs until after treatment ends, the reality is that you deserve to live well even if you’re in active treatment. Living well can include taking care of your health and participating in survivorship support programs throughout the period after diagnosis.

Facing kidney cancer comes with its own set of challenges, but people with kidney cancer are living longer than ever before. To enjoy and make the most of the years ahead of you, it’s important to take good care of your health.

Keep reading to discover seven tips for living well as a kidney cancer survivor.

Life After Kidney Cancer

For some people with kidney cancer, treatment can eliminate the cancer entirely. For others, cancer may not go away completely, and in these cases it’s common to get ongoing treatment that keeps the cancer under control.

Still others may be under active surveillance, which means their doctors will monitor the cancer for growth or spread. No matter what your treatment status is during survivorship, there are steps you can take to help with your quality of life and long-term health.

1. Stay Consistent With Follow-Up Care

It’s very important to follow your care team’s instructions and go to all your appointments. Because kidney cancer may come back, your doctors will want to watch you closely, even if you’re no longer receiving kidney cancer treatment.

Develop Open Communication With Your Doctors

It’s important to let your care team know about any concerns you have and any symptoms, problems, or changes that you experience. By openly communicating with your oncology team, you’ll be able to partner with your doctor to develop a care plan that meets your goals.

What To Expect at Doctor Visits

Follow-up care for kidney cancer will likely involve exams by healthcare professionals, as well as certain tests:

• Blood tests — These tests monitor how well your kidneys and other organs are functioning and look for possible markers of cancer recurrence in your blood.
• Imaging — These tests, such as CT, MRI, or positron emission tomography (PET) scans, take pictures of your insides, especially your chest and abdomen, to look for other tumors or abnormalities.

The frequency of your follow-up visits will depend on your stage of cancer, your treatment, and your level of risk for recurrence. If you were treated for early-stage cancer, you’re likely to have follow-ups at least yearly. If you were treated for later-stage cancer or have a high risk profile, you’ll likely have follow-ups every three to six months for a few years.

Regular Screenings and Check-Ups

As a cancer survivor, all your routine screenings and regular doctor appointments are important, not just the ones related to surviving kidney cancer. Studies show that although cancer survivors are likely to stay current on doctor visits related to their cancer, many people lag in staying current with other preventive testing and screening. This includes screenings for heart disease, as well as mammograms and colonoscopies.

Most cancer survivors are at risk of cardiovascular disease. Plus, people who have had kidney cancer may face a higher risk of getting another kind of cancer, including prostate cancer and melanoma.

2. Choose a Kidney-Friendly Diet

If you’ve had surgery to remove all or part of a kidney, your cancer care team may advise you to follow a special diet that reduces strain on your kidneys. While not everyone needs to eat this way after kidney cancer, this eating plan may be right for some people. A kidney-friendly diet typically includes:

• Eating less salt to help reduce the strain on your kidneys of filtering it out
• Eating less protein to make it easier for the kidneys to filter waste from your blood
• Drinking the right amount of water — It’s important to stay hydrated and also to avoid straining your kidneys by drinking too much fluid, which can build up and cause issues if your kidneys are running slowly.

If a renal diet isn’t necessary, it’s still a good idea to eat a balanced, healthy diet that’s low in processed foods and includes plenty of whole grains. Many cancer care experts also recommend limiting alcohol intake and eating less red meat. Ask for a referral to a dietitian if you need help developing a healthy eating plan.

3. Get Plenty of Exercise

Exercising regularly is one of the best things you can do for your body after a cancer diagnosis. Multiple studies have shown that among survivors, exercise can reduce the risk of cancer coming back and prolong your life. Physical activity also helps with many of the side effects that people struggle with after cancer treatment, including depression, brain fog, and cancer-related fatigue.

Being active can help with brain fog because it increases blood flow to your brain, helping brain cells grow more quickly. If you’ve lost muscle mass after surgery, getting exercise may also be important to help you regain your strength. Keeping your body physically active also reduces the risk of diabetes and heart disease.

4. Stop Smoking and Avoid Secondhand Smoke

Making healthy lifestyle choices can reduce your risk of developing other conditions that may complicate kidney cancer survivorship. Perhaps the most important of these is choosing not to smoke or be around smoking.

If you smoke, it’s a good idea to quit, since smoking increases your risk of kidney cancer and other types of cancer. Overall, cancer survivors who smoke face a higher risk of cancer recurrence, getting another kind of cancer, and dying.

Being around secondhand smoke at home or at work also carries a higher risk of negative health outcomes for cancer survivors. Vaping and using e-cigarettes are also harmful, so it’s best to avoid these as well.

If you smoke and need help quitting, talk to your doctor to get resources to help.

5. Manage Long-Term Treatment Side Effects

Pretty much any cancer treatment will have side effects. Some may be short-term, but others can last a while and impact your quality of life and abilities. Getting supportive care to help you manage side effects is a very important part of living well during kidney cancer survivorship. Side effects that may linger on after treatment include pain, tiredness, and brain fog.

Pain or Fatigue

People who have gone through treatment for cancer may experience pain around the surgery site, neuropathy (pain or tingling in the hands and feet), and cancer fatigue.

Fatigue after cancer treatment can last for a few weeks or several months, but for some it may last up to a year or longer, so it’s important to be patient. Give yourself time to heal and adjust, and talk to your doctor about how you feel. It’s important to discuss all of your concerns with your healthcare team, rather than just trying to endure discomfort.

Brain Fog

People who get chemotherapy and other types of cancer treatment often report cognitive symptoms like brain fog and memory issues over the short or long term. This might make decision-making more difficult. If you’re experiencing this aftereffect, it’s important to be kind to yourself and to let others know what’s going on.

Cancer care experts also recommend cognitive rehabilitation, a type of treatment that helps your brain work better. Cognitive rehab often includes finding new ways to do daily tasks, using organizational tools like a planner or reminder app, and practicing brain exercises that get harder as you progress.

6. Take Care of Your Mental and Emotional Health

As a cancer survivor, it’s common to experience mental health and emotional challenges, like fear of recurrence, sadness, anger, or grief over changes that have happened in your daily life or to your body. Anxiety, depression, and overwhelming feelings are normal, and it’s important to give yourself time and not expect everything to go back to the way it was before your diagnosis. Mental health care and support from family, friends, and loved ones is an important part of cancer survivorship for anyone who’s been diagnosed with cancer.

It’s important to seek out emotional support and take active steps to care for your mental and emotional well-being. These steps could include:

• Joining a support group, either online or in person
• Regularly speaking to a therapist
• Practicing mindful activities like yoga or meditation
• Seeking out spiritual or religious fulfillment

7. Know Which Changes To Watch For

While it’s important not to let fear of recurrence run your life, it’s also a good idea to stay on the lookout for any symptoms that might be a sign of something serious. Seek care right away if you experience:

• Any new lump, bump, growth, or swelling
• Pain with no known cause
• Unexplained weight loss
• Frequent headaches, chills, or fevers
• A cough that won’t go away or feeling short of breath often
• Blood in your urine or waste
• Loss of appetite, trouble swallowing, nausea, and vomiting

Join the Conversation

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

What are your top tips for living well as a survivor? Let others know in the comments below.