Question Title: 13 year old with renal cell carcinoma

My 13 year old had her left kidey removed and was diagnosed with papillary renal cell carcinoma. Her checkups have been clear for a year. They have now gone to every 4 months . Her oncologist was very negative when she was diagnosed and I refuse to see the man.Is there a chance that her cancer might never come back?
I worry that she isn't getting all the tests that she needs at her checkups, but I'm not sure what they should be besides ultra sounds, blood work and cat scans.
Any suggetions would be helpful .

Dear Sue:

Thanks for your questions and patience.

The most important determinants of cure following surgical excision of renal tumor include the following parameters: pathological stage of cancer, nuclear grade, size of tumor, pathological type and spread to veins and adjacent structures. We don’t know most of these parameters in your daughter’s case. However it not unreasonable to expect more than 70 percent cure (5-year survival) in her case (meaning that the cancer will not come back).

It does not mean that we can relax in the follow-up protocol, which essentially includes blood work up, ultrasounds and CT scans.

Hope this information will help you. Best of luck.

This information is provided for general medical information purposes only. Please consult your physician for diagnostic and treatment options pertaining to your specific medical condition. The Henry Ford Hospital Department of Urology has experience in the evaluation and treatments of problems as you describe. We would be most interested in helping you. You can reach us through our toll-free number 1-800-653-6568.

We can also arrange local accommodations through this number if this is your need. Please bring any x-rays (not just the reports) as well as any physicians' notes and lab test results that you may be able to obtain. These will help us greatly.

Sincerely,
HFHS M.D.-A.T.
*Keyword: Renal Cancer

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