Injury guide
Have kidney cancer and a history with fire foam? Keep your health and work records.
Updated Oct 4, 202616 sources
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Updated Oct 4, 202616 sources
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Richard M. Gergel · United States District Court for the District of South Carolina · United States District Judge
Finding: The August 31, 2026 order sets expert-motion dates for thyroid and liver cancer. It does not set an individual payment.
District of South Carolina: CMO33F (opens in a new tab) · Aug 31, 2026 · Checked Oct 3, 2026
International Agency for Research on Cancer · World Health Organization · Publisher of the cancer hazard assessment
Finding: PFOA is classed as able to cause cancer; PFOS as possibly able to cause cancer. The classifications do not measure individual risk at a given dose.
IARC: PFOA/PFOS evaluation Q&A (opens in a new tab) · Dec 1, 2023 · Checked Oct 3, 2026
International Agency for Research on Cancer · 2023
Read the source: PFOA and PFOS cancer hazard evaluation (opens in a new tab) · Checked Oct 3, 2026
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Have kidney cancer and a history with fire foam? Keep your health and work records. A doctor checks your care; a lawyer can assess a claim.
It is cancer in a kidney. There is more than one type. Ask your care team to explain the name in your report.
NCI’s renal cell guide concerns cancer in the kidney’s small tubes. Cancer in nearby collecting tissue can be a different type. Keep the full diagnosis rather than replacing it with a broad website label.
Blood in urine or pain can have many causes. Ask a doctor about changes that concern you. A claim review is not a health exam.
NCI lists blood in urine, a lump and lasting side pain among possible signs. Some people have no early signs. These signs do not show that PFAS caused a disease.
Your doctor may use tests and scans to check the kidney. Ask what the results show and what care is right for you.
The NCI guide describes exams, lab work, urine tests and scans. A tissue sample is not always needed if imaging provides enough information. Type, stage and your health help guide care; this page does not choose it.
Research has found links with some cancers. It does not prove the cause for one person. A blood result cannot predict whether you will get cancer.
IARC found limited human evidence for a link between PFOA and kidney cancer. Its overall cancer-hazard classification also uses animal and mechanistic evidence. It does not mean all PFAS, doses or foam products have the same effect.
ATSDR says a history of exposure matters when discussing care. Tell your clinician how and when contact may have occurred. Do not treat a PFAS blood result as a cancer diagnosis.
Have a diagnosis and a history of contact with foam or affected water? Ask a lawyer to check your facts. This page cannot decide your claim.
Record the place, work task and product if known. PFAS can come from sources beyond foam. A lawyer needs to assess the link you allege, the responsible parties and the law that applies.
Keep your kidney report and a list of places and dates. Ask a lawyer about time limits and written fees. Do not wait for legal work to get care.
Ask your covered health provider how to get missing records. Keep exposure notes separate from the diagnosis. Before sending files, check who will receive them, privacy terms and any fee or expense agreement.
A court’s expert-motion schedule is not your personal filing date. Ask for a deadline check based on your own facts and claim.
Relative risk of 1.74 for kidney cancer among individuals with high PFAS exposure compared to low-exposure controls
PFAS manufacturers knew about the persistence and toxicity of their products as early as 1970 — more than 50 years before widespread public awareness
Determined "probable link" between PFOA exposure and six diseases: kidney cancer, testicular cancer, thyroid disease, ulcerative colitis, high cholesterol, and pregnancy-induced hypertension
The review is free and private. Asking for it doesn’t commit you to anything.
Register your interestNo settlement has been announced. What any claim is worth depends on its facts, and no one can promise an amount. The court is weighing expert evidence on thyroid and liver cancer under an August 31, 2026 order, and no personal injury settlement has been announced. Any compensation would depend on the stage at diagnosis, treatment required, strength of exposure documentation, and individual circumstances.
Source: ATSDR: PFAS and Your Health · as of Oct 7, 2026
The link between PFAS and kidney cancer is among the strongest of any PFAS-disease association. IARC classified PFOA as a Group 1 carcinogen in 2023 based primarily on kidney cancer evidence — the highest classification, shared with asbestos and tobacco smoke. The C8 Science Panel determined a "probable link" between PFOA and kidney cancer from 69,000 residents studied. Meta-analyses show a relative risk of 1.74 at high exposure levels — meaning 74% higher cancer risk. The biological mechanism is well understood: PFAS activate PPARa, generate oxidative stress, damage DNA repair, and disrupt the VHL tumor suppressor pathway commonly mutated in renal cell carcinoma. This body of evidence provides exceptionally strong causation support for kidney cancer claims.
Yes. Given the established link between PFAS exposure and kidney cancer, individuals with significant AFFF exposure — firefighters, military personnel, and residents of contaminated communities — should discuss enhanced kidney screening with their healthcare provider. Kidney cancer is often diagnosed at advanced stages because early-stage disease is frequently asymptomatic. Screening options include periodic abdominal CT scans or kidney ultrasounds, urinalysis checking for microscopic hematuria, and monitoring of kidney function through blood tests. Early detection dramatically improves outcomes — localized kidney cancer has a 93% five-year survival rate compared to significantly lower survival for advanced disease. Blood PFAS testing can help quantify your exposure level and inform the appropriate screening interval.
Checked against 14 primary sources by People's Justice editors · Updated
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