When I encountered the blood in my urine alongside this weird abdominal pain, I had no idea that I would get diagnosed with kidney cancer within a matter of two weeks. My doctor, my family and my friends were convinced that those were typical kidney stones symptoms plus the fact that I was only 37 years old was another indicator leading us to believe that cancer was out of the picture. But it wasn’t.

Anyway, let’s start with some basic information about kidney stones, medically referred to as renal calculi. Kidney stones, out of all urinary diseases, is the most common one and unfortunately also associated with a lot of pain. But what are they exactly and where are they coming from?

A kidney stone is a hard and solid accumulation of crystals that gradually form in the kidneys. Most of the times those little masses pass our urinary tract and get expelled unnoticed. But in case the start to settle in one of the kidneys they can cause problems. Because after a while when they leave the kidneys and move into the ureter they ultimately block the passage. The larger and pointier the stones are, the more pain is being caused to the patient. Now here is some good news. In the vast majority of all cases, kidney stones are curable. However, in order to prevent a recurrence the patient needs to watch his diet and might have to undergo significant lifestyle changes.

What are the most common kidney stones symptoms?

While there are many symptoms of kidney stones, what we see most commonly is:

    1.    And frequent and persistent urge to urinate
    2.    Severe pain during urination
    3.    Nausea and fever
    4.    Pus in the urine, known as pyuria
    5.    Blood in the urine, called hematuria
    6.    Sever burning while urinating and passing the kidney stones

Usually, a patient who is experiencing the first symptoms of kidney stone is an acute and extreme pain as the mass is moving out of the kidney into the urinary tract and blocking the passage.

What are the causes of kidney stones?

Interestingly enough, there doesn’t seem to be a consensus among the medical community as what causes kidney stones. However, a number of factors, individually or in combination with each other, have been identified that seem to be responsible for the cause of a kidney stone, such as hereditary aspects, diet, lifestyle, etc. I on purpose will not talk about foods and beverages here since all the doctors I have asked tell seem to have different opinions. But here is a short list of kidney stones risk factors that most experts seem to agree with:

    1.    Family history of kidney stones
    2.    Being male and over 35 years of age
    3.    Dehydration
    4.    Obesity
    5.    Diets and Lifestyle, such as the consumption of high sugar, high protein and high sodium foods.
    6.    Certain medical conditions

A more comprehensive list with explanations can be found at the Mayo Clinic.

Lastly, let’s answer our initial question: is there a link between kidney stones and kidney cancer? No, there isn’t. However, the truth of the matter is some of the symptoms of kidney stones are identical with the signs of kidney cancer, for instance blood in the urine. That’s why in my case we all assumed initially that I had stones in my kidneys, but no cancer. As you know it turned out we were wrong. And that means, in general, if you encounter any of the aforementioned signs, go and get medical attention as soon as possible. The sooner you take care of the situation, the better are the chances of recovery.

The two videos below from the University of Maryland Medical Center have tons of information regarding kidney stones and kidney cancer.