What is the life expectancy of those with kidney cancer?

The life expectancy of a patient with kidney cancer depends upon its stage, or how far the disease has spread, according to the American Cancer Society and Healthline. In stage one, the cancer tumor is small and confined. The five-year survival rate is 81 percent.

Stage two is a larger tumor, but it is still only in the kidney, Healthline explains. 74 percent of patients at this stage survive at least five years, states ACS. By stage three, the cancer has spread out of the kidneys. The five-year survival rate is 53 percent. Stage four is characterized by a large tumor or one that has spread to other organs. Only eight percent of these patients survive five years or more.