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Signs & Symptoms Of Bladder Cancer
By peace | December 20, 2006
The bladder is a hollow, balloon-shaped organ that stores urine. It’s made of flexible muscle that expands when it fills and shrinks when it empties. It empties urine through a tube called the urethra. Bladder cancer occurs when cells in the bladder grow out of control. The cells clump together and form a malignant (cancerous) tumor.
Bladder cancer is the sixth most common cancer in the United States. It is cancer of the bladder. There are three types of bladder cancers. These are transitional cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma. These cancers are defined as superficial bladder cancer if they’re confined to the lining of the bladder or invasive bladder cancer if they have spread beyond the lining of the bladder. The most aggressive type of bladder cancer may grow through the bladder wall and spread to nearby organs. Bladder cancer is more common among whites and men and usually occurs among people in their 60’s.
Risk factors for Bladder Cancer
There are a number of risk factors that are attributed to bladder cancer. Here are the most common risk factors:
- Age – The majority of bladder cancers occur in people over the age of 60
- Male – Men are four times as likely to get bladder cancer than women
- Race – Whites are twice as likely to get bladder cancer compared to African Americans and Hispanics.
- Exposure to environmental substances – such as rubber, certain dyes and textiles, paint and hairdressing supplies
- Treatment with certain drugs
- Personal history of bladder cancer
- Infection with Schistosoma haematobium (parasite found in many developing countries)
- Smoking
- Industrial chemicals
- Chronic bladder inflammation
Signs & symptoms of Bladder Cancer
Bladder cancer often doesn’t produce signs or symptoms in its early stages. The first warning sign is usually blood in the urine. However, signs and symptoms of bladder cancer may be:
* Blood in urine
* Pelvic Pain
* Frequent urination
* Sensation for the need to urinate without results
* Slowing of the urinary stream
These signs and symptoms are the same as other diseases, so you should see your physician.
How cancer develops
Healthy cells grow and divide in an orderly way. This process is controlled by DNA — the genetic material that contains the instructions for every chemical process in your body. When DNA is damaged, changes occur in these instructions. One result is that cells may begin to grow out of control and eventually form a tumor, a mass of malignant cells.
Most bladder cancers begin in the specialized cells that line the walls of your bladder (transitional cells). The same type of cells occurs in your kidneys, ureters and urethra where they may also give rise to malignant tumors.
Some cancers remain confined to the bladder lining (carcinoma in situ). But other cancers are invasive, growing into or through the bladder wall, and eventually into nearby lymph nodes and adjacent organs. In time, cancer may spread (metastasize) to other organs, including your lungs, liver or bones.
How bladder cancer is staged
Bladder cancer is often staged using the numbers 0 to IV. Most newly diagnosed bladder cancers fall into Stage 0 or Stage I.
- Stage 0 cancer. Also called superficial or in situ cancer, this occurs only on the surface of the inner lining of the bladder. Finding cancer at this stage offers the best hope for a full recovery. Stage 0 cancer can often be completely removed while sparing the bladder, but the rate of recurrence is high.
- Stage I cancer. Cancer at this stage occurs in the bladder’s inner lining, but hasn’t invaded the muscular bladder wall.
- Stage II cancer. At this stage, cancer has invaded the bladder wall.
- Stage III cancer. The cancer cells have spread through the bladder wall to surrounding tissue. They may also have spread to the prostate in men or the uterus or vagina in women.
- Stage IV cancer. By this stage, cancer cells may have spread to the lymph nodes and other organs, such as your lungs, bones or liver.
- Recurrent. This refers to cancer that has returned after having been treated. It may recur in the same place or in another part of your body.
Topics: All Posts, Diseases, Man's health, Woman's Health |
