Kidneys are one of the important organs of the body. It is the kidneys that remove extra water and wastes from the blood, converting it to urine. They also keep a stable balance of salts and other substances in the blood. The kidneys produce hormones that help build strong bones and help form red blood cells. The common ailments of kidneys are kidney stones and kidney cancer. Both the problems are remarkably dangerous and problematic ones.

A kidney stone is a hard deposit or crystal that is highly problematic. Kidney stones are mostly built up from crystals that separate from the urine and build up on the inner surfaces of the kidney. Kidney stones are made of salts and minerals in the urine that stick together to form small “pebbles." They are usually painless while they remain in the kidney, but they can cause severe pain as they break loose and travel through narrow tubes (ureters) to exit the body during urination.

Kidney stones may contain various combinations of chemicals. The most common type of stone contains calcium in combination with either oxalate or phosphate. These chemicals are part of a person’s normal diet and make up important parts of the body, such as bones and muscles.

It has been seen that the number of persons falling pray to kidney stones have been increasing over the past 20 years. It has been stated that the whites are getting more prone to this ailment as compared to the black people. Future it has been stated that men are more prone to kidney stones as compare to the women.

Kidney cancer is not so common ailment in comparison to kidney stones. Kidney cancer tends to appear in adults in middle ages usually after 50 years of age. Kidney cancer strikes twice often in men as compared to women. Kidney cancers are of two types: those that arise from the substance of the kidney and those which arise from the system in the kidney which collects urine. The treatment of localized kidney cancer is surgical excision. The type and extent of surgery is determined by the type of tumor, its location and its size.

The most common type of kidney cancer occurs in the part of the kidney that filters blood and produces the urine. This type of kidney cancer is called renal cell cancer, or renal cell carcinoma. Another type of adult kidney cancer is a tumor which arises in the part of the kidney where the urine collects. This type of kidney cancer is called transitional cell carcinoma. The most frequent sign of kidney cancer in adults is blood in the urine.