Dr Ovo Samuel, a medical officer at the General Hospital Ughelli in Edo State, affirms that smokers are liable to develop kidney cancer at age 40 and above.

Ovo who disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Monday in Benin said cigarette smoking damages the kidney and lungs.

According to him some of the possible symptoms of kidney cancer are blood in urine, lump in the side or abdomen, loss of appetite, pain in the side that never subsides, weight loss and fever that lasts for weeks.

The physician also said extreme fatigue, anemia, swellings in the ankles or legs, shortness of breath, coughing of blood and bone pain were also symptoms of the cancer.

He said the ailment developed gradually from the body, presenting simple symptoms and graduating to complications if not treated promptly.

“The most common symptom of kidney cancer is a tumor in the kidney near a lymphnode,” he said.

He however, warned of illicit drug intake and alcohol consumption, saying both habits endangered the kidney.