Kidney Cancer Care
When you’re a patient at Swedish, we don’t just treat your kidney cancer – we treat you. We use the most advanced treatments to create a highly personalized care plan. We also support you and your loved ones with a full range of services throughout your entire cancer journey. The result is effective, whole-person care for your body, mind and spirit.
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Phone: 1-855-XCANCER (1-855-922-6237)
Why Choose Us for Kidney Cancer Care?
At Swedish, we see the life in you. Together, let’s finish cancer – so you don’t have to miss any of life’s special moments.
What Is Kidney Cancer? .
What Is Kidney Cancer? Kidney cancer is a urologic cancer that develops when cells in one or both kidneys grow abnormally, causing tumors. The expert oncology teams at Swedish use the most effective therapies to treat patients with every type of kidney cancer and its related conditions.
Testing and Diagnostics
Diagnostic tools help our cancer clinicians determine which therapies will work best for each patient, based on many factors like cancer type and the genetic or molecular profile of the tumor. Your doctors will use multiple advanced diagnostic and prognostic tools to help design your individualized treatment plan, including:
- Biopsy
- Fine needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy
- Genetics and genomics
- MRI
- PET/CT scan
- Ultrasound
Personalized Treatment for Kidney Cancer
We take a team approach to your kidney cancer treatment because we know this offers the best success in controlling and curing cancer. Your multidisciplinary cancer care team will work with you to design an individualized cancer care plan, from diagnosis to post-treatment support. We offer many different therapies across our Swedish locations. Depending on your condition, your personal care plan may include one or more of the following:
Systemic therapies travel through the bloodstream and affect cells in other body parts. They are used for patients whose cancer has spread to other areas of the body or if there’s a high risk of spread. Sophisticated genetic analysis allows us to target therapies to specific DNA mutations that cause cancer cells to develop and grow. Systemic therapies include:
Biologic therapies are a type of drug treatment derived from living organisms such as proteins or yeasts. One type of biologic therapy is monoclonal antibodies. These are laboratory-produced agents that target and bind to biologic entities such as receptors on cancer cells.
Chemotherapy is the systemic use of cytotoxic chemicals to kill cancer cells. Today there are many medications (e.g., biological medications, immune treatments, targeted therapies) that do not fit the classic definition of chemotherapy yet are often included in this category.
Clinical trials represent research protocols that include the use of new drugs or drug combinations in a specific clinical situation.
Immunotherapy uses drugs to allow the body’s own immune system to more effectively find and destroy cancer cells.
Molecularly targeted therapy is the use of drugs that are molecularly targeted at a genetic mutation that has allowed the cancer to grow. This therapy enables personalized treatments for patients who carry certain genetic mutations or abnormalities.
Surgical therapies involve an operation or procedure to remove cancer from the body. Surgery may be the main treatment for some invasive cancers, but it’s only one part of the entire treatment plan. Surgical therapies include:
Laparoscopic and open ablation refers to surgical procedures in which radiation, chemicals, or microwave or laser technologies are used to destroy cancer cells. The procedures may be done using a laparoscope inserted through a small incision, or in a traditional open manner.
Laparoscopic kidney surgery is a video camera-assisted procedure to remove kidney tumors or tissue.
Open kidney surgery is surgical removal of all or part of the kidney.
Partial and radical nephrectomy is surgical removal of an entire kidney as well as nearby glands and surrounding tissue.
Robotic kidney surgery is an advanced, ultrasound-guided surgery to remove a kidney tumor while minimizing damage to the healthy part of the kidney.
Radiation therapy uses high-energy radiation from a source like X-rays or photons to kill cancer cells or shrink tumors. It may be part of a treatment plan that also includes systemic therapies and/or surgery. Radiation is sometimes used to help ease a patient’s pain or discomfort. Radiation therapies include:
Brachytherapy is an approach to delivering radiation treatment from a source implanted inside the body. These sources may be placed either permanently or temporarily at the tumor site.
By delivering radiation directly into a tumor, this technique spares the surrounding normal tissue any exposure to radiation and the side effects that it may bring.
This advanced procedure requires a sophisticated facility and equipment, along with highly specialized physicians and support. It is available at some Swedish locations.
Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) are advanced types of radiation therapies. IMRT uses advanced technology to manipulate the radiation beams to conform to the shape of a tumor. VMAT is a subtype of IMRT in which the machine actively delivers radiation beams while moving in an arc around the patient.
This method of radiation delivery offers next-generation capabilities. The arc-based therapy provided via VMAT delivers high doses of radiation to more focused areas, reducing side effects and the overall treatment time for the patient. This treatment is particularly effective at treating several types of cancer while at the same time reducing toxicity and harm to vital organs.
This procedure is one of several new ways to deliver radiation therapy. It requires a sophisticated facility and equipment, along with highly specialized physicians. It is available at some Swedish locations.
Surface-guided radiation therapy (SGRT/SIGRT) is an approach to radiation targeting that offers real-time beam guidance from face and body surface-recognition systems.
This treatment is particularly effective at treating several types of cancer while at the same time reducing toxicity and harm to vital organs, thus minimizing side effects.
This advanced procedure requires a sophisticated facility and equipment, along with highly specialized physicians. It is available at some Swedish locations.
Stereotactic radiation (SABR/SBRT) is a group of treatments that includes stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) and stereotactic ablative radiation (SABR) – both of which are adaptations of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) – for the treatment of targets in the body, but outside the brain. Similar to SRS, these techniques deliver very high doses of radiation using sophisticated motion management and patient immobilization techniques.
The number of radiation treatments is minimal and may range from one to five treatments delivered over one to two weeks.
This procedure is one of several new ways to deliver radiation therapy. It requires a sophisticated facility and equipment, along with highly specialized physicians. It is available at some Swedish locations.
Three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3DCRT) is a radiation planning and treatment technique in which three-dimensional (3D) imaging enables improved targeting for radiation treatment. 3D planning with CT imaging makes radiation treatment much more conformal, or tailored to the target.
Additional therapies may also be part of the treatment plan for a small number of patients. These may include:
Embolization therapy is a treatment delivered by a catheter, in which a substance is injected through the catheter to block the blood vessel that supplies the tumor.
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Accreditations and Designations
We are proud to see our dedication to our cancer patients recognized by some of the most well-respected programs and institutions in the United States. Several of our Swedish locations have achieved the following accreditations:
- Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) Accreditation – National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA)
- American College of Radiology (ACR) Accreditation
- Accreditation Program for Excellence (APEx) – American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO)
- Commission on Cancer (CoC) Accreditation – American College of Surgeons (ACS)
- Integrated Network Cancer Program (INCP) – American College of Surgeons (ACS)
- Quality Oncology Practice Initiative (QOPI) Certification – American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)
- NPF Centers of Excellence – National Pancreas Foundation
Meet the Team
At Swedish, you'll have access to a vast network of dedicated and compassionate providers who offer personalized care by focusing on treatment, prevention and health education.
Find Clinical Trials
Are you looking for a clinical trial for yourself or for a patient? We’d love to help you find one!