Bladder Cancer: Symptoms, Risk Factors and Treatments

It is estimated that bladder cancer effects roughly 57,000 men and 18,000 women in the United States each year. This results in around 12,000 male and 5,000 female fatalities.

Bladder cancer is highly treatable when caught early. The five-year survival rate is currently a little over 77 percent. Here, we’ll explore the main symptoms, treatment options and risk factors associated with cancer of the bladder.

The disease is a fairly common type of cancer that starts in the cells of the bladder. In most cases, the cancer begins in the urothelial cells that form the lining of the bladder. Bladder cancer occurs when these cells stop functioning as they should and begin to reproduce at a dangerous rate.

Risk Factors

The risk of developing bladder cancer is about 1 in 89 for women and 1 in 27 for men. People over 55 years old are the most at risk, with the average age of diagnosis currently sitting at 73. The disease is more common in white people than it is in African Americans or people of Hispanic descent.

Other risk factors include:

• Smoking
• Exposure to carcinogenic chemicals at work (painters, printers, hairdressers, machinists and truck drivers are especially at risk)
• Drinking water contaminated with arsenic
• Taking dietary supplements which contain aristolochic acid
• Suffering with frequent bladder or urinary tract infections
• Having a family history of bladder cancer

Signs and Symptoms

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) list the following common bladder cancer symptoms:

• Blood in the urine (hematuria) (red or brown-colored urine)
• Needing to urinate frequently
• Pain while passing urine
• Back pain
• Pelvic pain
• The inability to urinate even when the bladder feels full

Diagnosing Bladder Cancer

If your symptoms indicate possible bladder cancer, you will likely be asked to give a urine sample for testing. Your doctor will check the sample of traces of blood, pre-cancerous cells and other bladder cancer markers. A rectal or pelvic physical exam may also be warranted, if later stage bladder cancer is suspected.

Following these tests, your physician may refer you for a cystoscopy. This procedure involves a camera on a long, thin tube being inserted into the urinary tract to check for the presence of tumors.

Treatment Options

The treatment options for bladder cancer vary based on the stage of the disease. Doctors also take the age and overall health of the patient into account, when determining the best course of action.

Possible treatments include:

• Non-surgical tumor removal via a cystoscopy or transurethral resection
• Surgical removal of the tumor
• Cystectomy (surgical removal of the bladder)
• Chemotherapy
• Radiation therapy

Chemotherapy and radiotherapy may be used alone or in conjunction with other treatments, depending on whether complete or partial removal of the cancer is possible.

If you are experiencing any of the symptoms discussed above you need to see your doctor as soon as possible. The chances of treatment being successful are higher the earlier the disease is discovered. Keep in mind that bladder cancer symptoms can all be caused by other, less harmful conditions, so while you need to be vigilant, there’s no need to panic.