Kidney cancer is considered advanced when the kidney cancer cells have spread throughout the body, causing tumors to grow in other places. This is also called Stage IV kidney cancer.

Afinitor is a prescription medicine used to treat people with advanced kidney cancer. This second-line treatment option has been FDA approved for treating patients with advanced kidney cancer whose disease has progressed on Sutent^® (sunitinib) or Nexavar^® (sorafenib). Afinitor is an mTOR inhibitor that directly affects both the cancer cells and the blood vessels that feed them, helping to stop cancer cells from dividing, making it harder for the tumor to grow and spread. It also helps to keep cancer cells from getting nutrition they need to grow and it prevents blood vessels from growing and supplying the tumor with blood.

Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapies interfere with the proteins inside tumor cells and interrupt certain cell functions, such as the overproduction of cancer cells. The goal of these medicines is to slow the growth of the cancer and shrink tumor cells.

This procedure involves blocking the blood supply to a tumor. Blocking the blood supply makes the tumor shrink.

A mass of cells (a growth or tumor) that is not cancer. These growths can often be removed and usually don't grow back.

A person who helps a loved one cope with their illness by providing emotional support and helping with day-to-day tasks. Caregivers tend to live with the person for whom they provide care.

A case manager (or care manager) is a person with training and experience in helping coordinate the care of people with cancer. Case managers are usually assigned to you through your health plan and can assist with any insurance issues and help determine your coverage.

Also called complete remission, this means that all signs of cancer have disappeared.

These cancer medicines help the body's immune system fight cancer cells.

The continued growth of your cancer. Progression means that a cancer tumor has grown bigger. It can also mean that the tumor has come back after it has been removed by surgery.

The active ingredient in Afinitor. It stops the cancer from making new cells and cuts off the blood supply to the cancer. This may slow down the growth and spread of the kidney cancer.

The first medicine used to treat a cancer. It is also called primary therapy or primary treatment.

A system that helps doctors determine the characteristics of the cancer's cells. Doctors use what is called Fuhrman Grading, which grades the cancer on a scale of 1 through 4, with Grade 1 kidney cancers having the most promising prognosis.

Medicines that are given through a shot into your vein. You have to go to your doctor's office to receive them.

A type of cancer that forms in tissues of the kidneys. Kidney cancer includes renal cell carcinoma, which is cancer that forms in the lining of very small tubes in the kidney that filter the blood and remove waste products.

A cancerous tumor that grows and spreads through the body.

The way a medicine works.

The spread of cancer from one part of the body to another. A tumor formed by cells that have spread is called a "metastatic tumor" or a "metastasis".

These medicines block a specific kind of protein called mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), which affect both the cancer cells and the blood vessels that feed them.

A kind of surgery to remove a kidney.

An anti-VEGF medicine. It also works by starving tumors of the blood supply they need to grow and spread. Nexavar is a pill you take whole with water and without food (at least 1 hour before or 2 hours after a meal). Side effects with Nexavar may include rash, redness, itching or peeling of your skin, hair thinning or patchy hair loss, diarrhea, nausea or vomiting, mouth sores, weakness, loss of appetite, numbness, tingling or pain in your hands and feet, abdominal pain, tiredness, and weight loss.

Oncologists are doctors who are specially trained to treat people with cancer. They are experts in the field of cancer and cancer therapies. In many cases, your healthcare team will be led by your oncologist. He or she will work with you to develop a plan of action and will remain with you throughout your journey.

An oncology social worker can help counsel patients and their families on coordinating cancer care, coping skills, and lifestyle adjustments. They may also help connect people to cancer support groups in the community and aid with any financial concerns.

These are pills or medicines that you can take by mouth.

This procedure takes out only the tumor and nearby kidney tissue. The rest of the kidney is left in place. This type of surgery is used when the tumor is small (less than 4 centimeters). It is also used if the patient only has 1 kidney or if there is cancer in both kidneys.

Also called partial remission, this is a test result that indicates that a tumor has stopped growing and has become even smaller.

The duration of time during and after treatment in which a patient is living with a disease that does not get worse.

This surgical procedure takes out the entire kidney as well as some small organs and tissue near the kidney. This is the most common surgery for advanced kidney cancer.

The most common type of kidney cancer. Also see advanced kidney cancer.

Medicine that is given when first-line therapy doesn't work, stops working, or has to be stopped because of intolerable side effects.

When your disease has become stable this means that the tumor has stopped growing.

This is a way of classifying cancer so that you and your healthcare team understand how far the cancer has progressed. This staging system tells us how large the tumor is, if cancer cells have spread, and where those cancer cells have spread.

The classification of a fairly small tumor of 7 cm or smaller that hasn't spread beyond the kidney.

The classification of a tumor larger than 7 cm that hasn't spread beyond the kidney.

The classification of a tumor that has grown a little beyond the kidney and/or cancer cells that have entered 1 lymph node or large blood vessel close to the kidney.

The classification of a tumor that has grown beyond the kidney and the tissue around it and/or cancer cells have entered at least 2 lymph nodes close by or have spread to other parts of the body (this is called metastasis).

This doctor has a medical degree in surgery with further training in the removal and treatment of cancerous tumors.

An anti-VEGF medicine. Sutent may slow or stop the growth of cancer. It may help shrink tumors. It does this by keeping the cancer cell from getting new supplies of blood. Without new blood supplies, the cancer cell cannot grow and spread to other parts of the body. Sutent comes in oral capsules you take once a day consistently with or consistently without food. Common side effects are feeling tired, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, mouth sores, upset stomach, abdominal pain, constipation, yellow-looking skin, lighter-colored skin and hair, dry skin, thicker skin, cracked skin, blisters or a rash on the palms of your hands and soles of your feet, taste changes, swelling, loss of appetite, high blood pressure, and bleeding (such as nosebleeds or bleeding from cuts).

Medicine that is given when both first- and second-line therapies don't work, stop working, or have to be stopped because of intolerable side effects.

A growth or mass of cells that is either benign or malignant.