Health Link

Healthy living after treatment of childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancer

Keeping Your Single Kidney Healthy
The kidneys are vital organs responsible for filtering out waste products from the blood, controlling blood pressure,and stimulating red blood cell production. Treatment for childhood cancer sometimes requires removal of one kidney(nephrectomy). Although you can live a healthy life with only one kidney, it is important that you take steps to protect
your remaining kidney to keep it as healthy as possible.
What follow up is recommended?
•Have a medical check-up at least yearly. This should include a blood pressure check and urine test.

•Have a blood test for kidney function (BUN, creatinine) and electrolytes (blood salts and minerals) at yourfirst long-term follow-up visit (at least 2 years after completing cancer treatment), and then yearly testing tomonitor kidney function.

•If you have high blood pressure, protein in the urine, or other signs of worsening kidney problems, you shouldhave an evaluation by a nephrologist (kidney specialist).

What can I do to keep my kidney healthy?
•Drink plenty of water, especially when playing sports, while out in the sun, and during hot weather.

•Call your healthcare provider immediately if you have symptoms of a urinary tract infection (burning when
you urinate, urinating more frequently than usual, and/or feeling an urgent sensation to urinate).

•

Check with your healthcare provider or pharmacist before taking any new medicines (prescription, overthe-counter, or herbal). Be sure that your healthcare provider or pharmacist is aware that you have a single
kidney.

•Use non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs with caution. These include pain or fever medicines (over-thecounter and by prescription) that contain aspirin, ibuprofen, or naproxen. These medications have been known
to cause kidney damage (analgesic nephropathy), especially when taken in high doses or over long periods oftime (more than 10 days). If you require long-term medications for management of pain, be sure to discuss thealternatives with your healthcare provider, and to choose medications that are safe for your kidneys.

•

Physical activity, including sports, is good for your health. Kidney injuries from sports are uncommon, andthose that do occur rarely cause permanent damage or kidney loss. Overall, most physical activity poses little
or no risk to the kidney and is strongly encouraged to maintain good general health. Talk with your health careprovider about your kidney health to help you decide whether to participate in certain sports.

•Serious kidney injuries are rare. When they do occur, they are most commonly caused by car accidents,
all-terrain vehicles, and falls. To protect your single kidney, always wear your seatbelt properly when riding in avehicle. Lap belts should be worn across the hips, not around the waist. If you are involved in an accident and akidney injury is suspected, seek medical attention right away.

Are there any other risk factors for kidney problems?
Certain treatments for childhood cancer can sometimes cause kidney problems. These include radiation to the kidney,
chemotherapy that can affect the kidney (cisplatin, carboplatin, and/or ifosfamide), other medications that can affectthe kidney (certain antibiotics or medications used for treatment of graft versus host disease) or hematopoietic celltransplant (HCT). In addition, other risk factors that may increase the chance of kidney problems include medicalCopyright 2023 © Children’s Oncology Group. All rights reserved worldwide.

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Health Link

Healthy living after treatment of childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancer

conditions, such as high blood pressure or diabetes, urinary tract problems such as frequent urinary infections or backflow of urine into the kidney (reflux), or bladder removal (cystectomy). If you have any of these risk factors, please readthe related Health Link: Kidney Health.
Written by Wendy Landier, PhD, CPNP, Children’s Hospital of Alabama, Birmingham, AL.
Revised by Maki Okada, CPNP, FNP-BC, CPON®, Miller Children’s and Women’s Hospital Long Beach, Long Beach, CA.
Reviewed by Kayla L. Foster, MD, MPH; and Melissa Acquazzino, MD, MS.

Additional health information for childhood cancer survivors is available atwww.survivorshipguidelines.org
Note: Throughout this Health Links series, the term “childhood cancer” is used to designate pediatric cancers that may occur during childhood, adolescence, or young adulthood.
Health Links are designed to provide health information for survivors of pediatric cancer, regardless of whether the cancer occurred during childhood, adolescence, or young
adulthood.
Disclaimer and Notice of Proprietary Rights
Introduction to Late Effects Guidelines and Health Links: The Long-Term Follow-Up Guidelines for Survivors of Childhood, Adolescent, and Young Adult Cancers and accompanying Health Links
were developed by the Children’s Oncology Group as a collaborative effort of the Late Effects Committee and Nursing Discipline and are maintained and updated by the Children’s Oncology
Group’s Long-Term Follow-Up Guidelines Core Committee and its associated Task Forces.
To cancer patients (if children, their parents or legal guardians): Please seek the advice of a physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a
medical condition and do not rely on the Informational Content. The Children’s Oncology Group is a research organization and does not provide individualized medical care or treatment.
To physicians and other healthcare providers: The Informational Content is not intended to replace your independent clinical judgment, medical advice, or to exclude other legitimate criteria
for screening, health counseling, or intervention for specific complications of childhood cancer treatment. Neither is the Informational Content intended to exclude other reasonable alternative
follow-up procedures. The Informational Content is provided as a courtesy, but not intended as a sole source of guidance in the evaluation of childhood cancer survivors. The Children’s Oncology
Group recognizes that specific patient care decisions are the prerogative of the patient, family, and healthcare provider.
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