Kidney stone is one of the common problems grasping millions across the world. It is termed as one of the most problematic and highly painful ailment that can come at any age to anyone. A patient of kidney stones tends to get intensely painful attacks and frequently complain about problem while urination and blood in urine. The patients can show the symptoms like frequency of urination and problem and blood in urine with severe pain in the abdomen and waist going down towards groin.

Kidney stones (calculi) are made of substances normally found in the urine. Stones begin as small crystals in the kidney. They form when the urine is too concentrated in calcium or other chemicals that can group together. Over time, tiny crystals may grow into stones that are large enough to cause symptoms such as pain or bleeding. Stones grow in an unpredictable fashion. They can grow in quick spurts or extremely slowly, depending on conditions in the urine. Mostly the stones are composed of calcium or any substance normally present in urine. Commonly the stones are formed of calcium oxalate and may also be of calcium phosphate and less common are the ones that are formed of uric acid, cystine and struvite.

There is another common ailment of kidneys that is several times confused and related to kidney stones is kidney cancer. Both kidney tones and kidney cancer are ailments of kidneys. Kidney cancer is the seventh most common cancer and the tenth most common cause of cancer death in men. The overall five-year relative survival rate (the percentage of patients who survive at least five years after the cancer is detected, excluding those who die from other diseases) is 65%. If the cancer has widely metastasized outside of the kidneys, it is difficult to treat. Since 1% of all kidney cancer spontaneously shrinks or disappears, scientists have focused on the body’s immune system as a useful tool to treat advanced kidney cancer.

Kidney cancer seldom causes symptoms in its early stages. However, if kidney cancer is found and treated early, there is a good chance for a full recovery. Surgery to remove a kidney tumor, or the kidney itself, provides a reasonable chance of cure if the cancer has not metastasized (spread) beyond the kidney.

Some of the risk factors for developing kidney cancer are the occurrence in family history, age group endangered are between 50 to 70, smoking, obesity, high blood pressure, exposure to environment toxins, long term dialysis, exposure to radiations or industrial chemicals, inactive life style, Hereditary papillary renal cell carcinoma. The risk factors of kidney stones are insufficient fluid intake, especially water, Personal history of kidney stones, Family history of kidney stones, between the ages of 20 and 60, High protein, low fiber diet, Very sedentary lifestyle, recurring urinary tract infections. The risk factors are very similar but it does not mean that kidney stones invite kidney cancer or vice versa.