The short answer
How much kidney you kept is the fact that shapes everything else. A partial nephrectomy leaves the rest of the kidney; a radical nephrectomy takes the whole thing. Targeted drug side effects and a raised risk of a separate second cancer fill out the rest of the plan.
For early-stage disease, NCI says partial nephrectomy in carefully chosen patients has cancer outcomes comparable to radical nephrectomy, and keeps more kidney function.
After early-stage disease, many doctors do a visit a few months after treatment ends, then about every 12 months. After later-stage disease, imaging and lab tests every 3 to 6 months are more likely.
High blood pressure is common with sunitinib, axitinib and lenvatinib. Hand-foot skin reactions show up with sorafenib and sunitinib, and axitinib is linked with an underactive thyroid (seen on lab tests).
People treated for kidney cancer face higher risk of a second kidney cancer, bladder cancer and cancer of the ureter. That risk is highest in people diagnosed before age 50.
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This page is for people who have finished treatment for kidney cancer. It covers follow-up visits, lasting side effects, second cancer risk, and questions to ask your care team.
How much kidney you kept
This is the fact that shapes everything else.
A nephrectomy is surgery to remove all or part of a kidney. A partial nephrectomy removes the tumor and leaves the rest of the kidney. For early-stage disease, NCI says that in carefully chosen patients its cancer outcomes are comparable to a radical nephrectomy, and it keeps more kidney function.
A radical nephrectomy takes the kidney, the adrenal gland, surrounding tissue, and usually nearby lymph nodes. Ask which one you had, in those words.
The follow-up rhythm after treatment
The American Cancer Society sets out a rough pattern. It depends on your stage, your treatment, and your risk of the cancer returning.
After early-stage kidney cancer, many doctors do a visit a few months after treatment ends. After that, about every 12 months for at least a few years.
After later-stage disease, visits with imaging and lab tests are more likely every 3 to 6 months for a few years, then yearly.
Side effects that can outlast the pills
Targeted drugs for kidney cancer have a recognizable set of side effects.
High blood pressure is common with sunitinib, axitinib and lenvatinib. Hand-foot skin reactions show up with sorafenib and sunitinib. Axitinib is linked with an underactive thyroid.
Ask which of your side effects should have faded by now, and which need a blood test.
A second cancer is a separate risk
This is not the same as the first cancer coming back.
ACS reports that people treated for kidney cancer have a higher risk of certain other cancers. Those include a second kidney cancer, bladder cancer, and cancer of the ureter (the tube that carries urine from the kidney to the bladder).
The risk of a second kidney cancer is highest in people diagnosed before age 50.
Questions for your follow-up visit
- Did I have a partial or a radical nephrectomy, and how much kidney function is left?
- What is my follow-up schedule, and how many years does it run?
- Which scan are you using, and can we ever swap it for one without contrast dye?
- NCI lists long-term use of some pain medicines as a kidney cancer risk factor. Should I avoid them now?
- My blood pressure went up on a targeted drug. Will it settle, or do I need treatment for it?
- Should my thyroid be checked after axitinib?
- I was diagnosed young, or have relatives with kidney cancer. Should I be tested for von Hippel-Lindau disease or hereditary papillary renal cancer?
When to bring in another kidney specialist
Ask for another view if a hereditary syndrome is possible, if your kidney function is falling, or if nobody has explained why your scan interval was chosen.
Daily life with one kidney
The practical part is knowing your own numbers and carrying them.
Keep a written note of your surgery type, your last kidney function result, and your drug list. Any new doctor will ask.
Related pages
Also useful: Watching for Cancer Recurrence, Fear of Recurrence, Palliative Care, and Questions to Ask Your Doctor.
Where this comes from
Common questions
What is the difference between a partial and a radical nephrectomy?
A partial nephrectomy removes the tumor and leaves the rest of the kidney. A radical nephrectomy takes the kidney, the adrenal gland, surrounding tissue, and usually nearby lymph nodes. Ask which one you had, in those words.
Is a second cancer the same as the first one coming back?
No. It is a separate risk. ACS reports higher risk of a second kidney cancer, bladder cancer and cancer of the ureter after kidney cancer treatment, and that risk is highest in people diagnosed before age 50.
Should I be tested for an inherited syndrome?
Raise it if you were diagnosed young or have relatives with kidney cancer. Von Hippel-Lindau disease and hereditary papillary renal cancer are the two to name.
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Cancer Explained does not originate medical claims. Every page restates guidance already published by the National Cancer Institute, the CDC, the USPSTF and the FDA, in plain language, with the source cited so you can check the original yourself. AI does the translating and organizing; automated checks test claims, citations, clarity and safety before anything publishes, and this is translation and navigation, not clinical judgment. Nothing here is personal medical advice, and no page can account for your particular situation.
Editorial status: Source checked — This page was written with AI assistance and then compared with the sources listed on it, looking for statements those sources do not back up. That check is not a sentence-by-sentence record and can miss errors. It is not a medical review, and it does not confirm the page is complete or right for your situation.
Human medical review: not completed. Pages here are not signed off by a clinician before they publish. That is not an oversight we are quietly working around: we restate published guidance and cite it, so the authority belongs to the source rather than to us, and every page names where its claims come from — you can verify us instead of trusting us. Where a volunteer clinician has reviewed a page, their name and credentials appear on it; where no name appears, no clinician has checked it. We are glad to have reviewers and are recruiting them, and we do not hold pages back waiting for one. Use this site to understand your situation and to ask better questions of the people treating you.
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