Coping with kidney cancer

This page is about coping with kidney cancer. There is information about

A quick guide to what's on this page
Coping with your diagnosis
How kidney cancer can affect you physically
Coping practically with kidney cancer
More information about coping with kidney cancer

Coping with kidney cancer

It can be very difficult to cope with a diagnosis of cancer, both practically and emotionally. You are likely to feel very upset and confused. As well as coping with the fear and anxiety that a diagnosis of cancer brings, you have to work out how to manage practically. The coping with cancer section contains lots of information you may find helpful. There are sections about

Your feelings
Talking to people – who and what to tell
Talking to children
How you can help yourself
Who else can help you
Sick pay and benefits – coping financially

CR PDF Icon You can view and print the quick guides for all the pages in the Living with kidney cancer section.

It can be very difficult to cope with a diagnosis of kidney cancer, both practically and emotionally. At first, you are likely to feel very upset, frightened and confused. Or you may feel that things are out of your control. It is very important to get the right information about your type of cancer and how it is best treated. People who are well informed about their illness and treatment are more able to make decisions and cope with what happens.

Kidney cancer and its treatment may cause physical changes in your body. These changes can be very difficult to cope with and may affect the way you feel about yourself. Such changes can affect your self esteem and the way you relate to other people, especially close family and friends. Another problem you may have to cope with is feeling very tired and lethargic a lot of the time, especially during and for a while after treatment or if the cancer is advanced. There is information about fatigue and cancer and treating cancer fatigue in the section about coping physically with cancer.

If you are having a sexual relationship, these changes may affect your sex life. There is information about how cancer can affect your sex life in the coping with cancer section.

As well as coping with the fear and anxiety that a diagnosis of cancer brings, you may also have to work out how to manage practically. There may be money matters to sort out. You may need information about financial support, such as benefits, sick pay and grants.

Who do you tell that you have cancer? And how do you find the words? You may also have children to think about. We have information about talking to people about your cancer and how and what to tell children.

Just try to remember that you don't have to sort everything out at once. It may take some time to deal with each issue. Do ask for help if you need it though. Your doctor or specialist nurse will know who you can contact to get some help and they can put you in touch with people specially trained to support you. These people are there to help and want you to feel that you have support. So use them if you feel you need to.

The coping with cancer section has lots of helpful information. There are sections about

Your feelings
How you can help yourself
Who can help you
Mortgages, pensions, loans and insurance, including travel insurance

If you would like more detailed information about coping with kidney cancer, contact the Cancer Research UK information nurses on freephone 0808 800 4040, from 9am until 5pm, Monday to Friday. Or one of the kidney cancer organisations will be happy to help. They often have free factsheets and booklets they can send to you. They may also be able to put you in touch with a support group. There is also a kidney cancer reading list.

You can also find details of counselling organisations that can tell you more about counselling and help you find sources of emotional support in your area.

If you want to find people to share experiences with online, you could use CancerChat, our online forum. Or go through My Wavelength. This is a free service that aims to put people with similar medical conditions in touch with each other.