Singer/Songwriter Andrew Gold Gone

Singer/songwriter Andrew Gold has died at the age of 59. Although he started as a backup player in Linda Rondstat’s band, Gold had his own successful career as a solo artist with songs such as “Lonely Boy” and Golden Girls theme song “Thank You for Being a Friend.” His family reports that he was being treated for renal (kidney) cancer, although treatment seems to be going well at the time of his death, and they speculate that he may have died of a heart attack.

Here is a video of Gold singing Lonely Boy:

Renal cell cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in tubules of the kidney.

Renal cell cancer (also called kidney cancer or renal adenocarcinoma) is a disease in which cancer cells are found in the lining of very small tubes, called tubules, in the kidney.

There are 2 kidneys, one on each side of the backbone, above the waist. The tiny tubules in the kidneys filter and clean the blood, taking out waste products and making urine. The urine passes from each kidney into the bladder through a long tube called a ureter. The bladder stores the urine until it is passed from the body.

What are the symptoms of renal cancer?
There may be no symptoms in the early stages. Symptoms may appear as the tumor grows. You should check with your doctor if you have any of the following:

• Blood in the urine.
• A lump in the abdomen.
• A pain in the side that doesn’t go away.
• Loss of appetite.
• Weight loss for no known reason.
• Anemia.

Risk factors for renal cell cancer include the following:

• Smoking.
• Misusing certain pain medicines, including over-the-counter pain medicines, for a long time.
• Having certain genetic conditions, such as von Hippel-Lindau disease or hereditary papillary renal cell carcinoma.

Treatment depends on the patient’s age, overall health and how advanced the cancer is. It might include surgery, radiation, chemotherapy or biologic therapy. Biologic therapy boosts a person’s own ability to fight cancer.

For more information about kidney cancer, click here to go to the Resounding Health Casebook on the topic.