Kidney cancer can be hard to detect early. It may grow for quite a while before it causes any pain or discomfort.

The most common symptoms are:

• blood in the urine
• a lump in the abdomen (belly).

Blood in the urine may well be the sign of another, less serious problem such as an infection – but you should see your GP if you get it.

Other possible symptoms of kidney cancer are:

• unexplained weight loss
• lack of energy
• pain or discomfort around the back and side.

Quite often, kidney cancer is discovered by chance, when a patient has tests for something else.