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Bladder cancer is the 6th most common form of cancer diagnosed in the United States. As we entered the 21st century, over 50,000 Americans were developing bladder cancer annually. Fortunately, it is also very treatable and a variety of bladder cancer treatment options - ranging from surgery to drug therapy - are available to patients.
Risk Factors
Bladder cancer can be hereditary.
Signs & Symptoms
Blood in the urine, pain while urinating, and a frequent need to urinate even if the bladder is empty are the main symptoms of bladder cancer. However, these symptoms can also indicate bladder infections, stones or benign tumors, so a medical diagnosis is necessary to rule out or confirm cancer of the bladder.
Diagnosis & Tests
Diagnosis of bladder cancer generally starts with urine tests. These tests look for cancer cells as well as evidence of infection and other non-cancerous explanations of the symptoms. Your family doctor may also perform a physical exam (a vaginal examination for women, and a rectal exam for men).
If the physical exam or the urine test indicates the possibility of bladder cancer, X-rays of the bladder may be taken, or the doctor may perform a cystoscopy. A thin tube called a cystoscope is inserted into the bladder, allowing the physician to view and examine the bladder. The cystoscope can also take tissue samples for biopsy to determine whether cancer cells are present.
Treatment & Prevention
Treatment for bladder cancer varies from patient to patient and includes radiation therapy, chemotherapy, surgery, or a combination of these therapies. Of the three types of bladder cancer treatment, surgery is the most common. Depending on the extent of the cancer, the surgery may be as simple as scraping cancerous cells off the bladder, removing a portion of the bladder, or in severe cases, removing the bladder entirely.
External radiation therapy targets the cancer with bursts of radiation that kill the cancerous cells. With internal radiation therapy a small radioactive device is inserted into the bladder. The patient usually stays in the hospital for a few days until the device is removed. Often, both external and internal radiation are used together. Chemotherapy treats the cancer with drugs that are delivered directly to the bladder using a catheter, or they may be injected directly into the bloodstream.
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Signs, symptoms & indicators of Bladder Cancer:
Conditions that suggest Bladder Cancer:
Risk factors for Bladder Cancer: | | | | | Addictions |  Cigarette Smoke Damage | Close to 50% of all bladder and kidney cancer deaths in men are caused by smoking. Among women, 37% of bladder and 12% of kidney cancer deaths are directly attributable to smoking. The risk of developing these cancers is two to three times greater for both male and female smokers than that of the nonsmoking population. Cigarette smoke can interact with chemicals (especially aromatic amines) in the work place to produce bladder and kidney cancer. Workers exposed to organic chemicals in the dye, rubber, leather and paint industries that also smoke have a greater bladder cancer rate than would be predicted from either smoking or chemicals alone. |
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Personal Background |
Caucasian ethnicity| | Caucasians are twice as likely to develop bladder cancer as African Americans or Hispanics. |
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Symptoms - Cancer |
 History of bladder cancer| | Patients who have had bladder cancer may have a recurrence. |
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Symptoms - Environment |
(History of/high) solvent exposure| | People in occupations that involve work with carcinogens have a greater risk of developing bladder cancer. |
Using chlorinated water| | Chlorination, the most widely used method of killing bacteria in water, is known to produce powerful carcinogenic residues, including Dioxin. Studies have shown that the risk of bladder cancer is doubled if you drink chlorine treated water. |
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Symptoms - Food - Beverages |
(High) coffee consumption| | Studies linking coffee consumption with cancer are conflicting and inconclusive at this point, but there is a suggestion of a higher incidence of cancers of the pancreas, ovaries, bladder, and kidneys in coffee drinkers. |
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Symptoms - Food - Preferences |
(Partial) vegetarian diet or omnivorous diet| | A diet high in saturated fat (which is generally found in animal products) is a major risk factor for bladder cancer. |
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Bladder Cancer suggests the following may be present: | | | | | Addictions | Cigarette Smoke Damage| | Close to 50% of all bladder and kidney cancer deaths in men are caused by smoking. Among women, 37% of bladder and 12% of kidney cancer deaths are directly attributable to smoking. The risk of developing these cancers is two to three times greater for both male and female smokers than that of the nonsmoking population. Cigarette smoke can interact with chemicals (especially aromatic amines) in the work place to produce bladder and kidney cancer. Workers exposed to organic chemicals in the dye, rubber, leather and paint industries that also smoke have a greater bladder cancer rate than would be predicted from either smoking or chemicals alone. |
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Tumors, Malignant |
Cancer, General |
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Recommendations and treatments for Bladder Cancer:
Preventive measures against Bladder Cancer:
KEY | | Weak or unproven link | | | Strong or generally accepted link |  | | Proven definite or direct link |  | | Weakly counter-indicative |  | | May do some good |
GLOSSARY
Bacteria (Bacterial, Bacterium)
Microscopic germs. Some bacteria are "harmful" and can cause disease, while other "friendly" bacteria protect the body from harmful invading organisms.
Benign
Literally: innocent; not malignant. Often used to refer to cells that are not cancerous; they tend to grow slowly and don't spread (metastasize) like cancer tumors do.
Biopsy
Removal of a sample of tissue from a living being for diagnosis. A pathologist later uses a microscope to look for certain features, such as cancer cells, in the sample. A fine-needle aspiration biopsy involves inserting a thin needle to remove a small amount of tissue, sometimes using CT or ultrasound to guide the needle. A core biopsy involves obtaining a sample of tissue with a thick needle or by inserting a thin, lighted tube (laparoscope) into a small incision in the abdomen. Another biopsy method is to remove tissue during an operation.
Cancer
Refers to the various types of malignant neoplasms that contain cells growing out of control and invading adjacent tissues, which may metastasize to distant tissues.
Carcinogen (Carcinogenic, Carcinogenicity)
Any agent that is cancer-causing.
Chemotherapy
A treatment of disease by any chemicals. Used most often to refer to the chemical treatments used to combat cancer cells. Chemotherapy is usually given in cycles: a treatment period followed by a recovery period, then another treatment period, and so on. Most anticancer drugs are given by injection into a blood vessel (IV); some are given by mouth. Chemotherapy is a systemic therapy, meaning that the drugs enter the bloodstream and travel throughout the body. Usually, a patient has chemotherapy as an outpatient (at the hospital, at the doctor's office, or at home). However, depending on which drugs are given and the patient's general health, a short hospital stay may be needed.
Kidneys (Kidney, Renal)
Bean-shaped organs, each about the size of a fist. They are located near the middle of the back, just below the rib cage. The kidneys are sophisticated reprocessing machines, each day handling about 50 gallons of blood to sift out about half a gallon of waste products and extra water. The waste and extra water become urine, which flows to the bladder through tubes called ureters. The actual filtering occurs in tiny units inside the kidneys called nephrons. Every kidney has about a million nephrons. In a nephron, a glomerulus -- which is a tiny blood vessel, or capillary -- intertwines with a tiny urine-collecting tube called a tubule. A complicated chemical exchange takes place, as waste materials and water leave your blood and enter your urinary system. The kidneys recycle chemicals such as sodium, phosphorus, and potassium and thus regulate their levels. Renal: Pertaining to the kidneys.
Malignant (Cancerous)
Dangerous. Mainly used to describe a cancerous growth -- when used this way, it means the growth is cancerous and predisposed to spreading.
Ovary (Ovaries)
Ovaries are about the size of an almond and lie on either side of the lower abdomen beside the uterus. They usually produce one egg each month and whether the egg is fertilized or not, the reproductive process follows a monthly cycle, with constant changes in various hormone levels, preparing another opportunity for conception. The ovary is responsible for most of the estrogen production in women. At menopause (sometime after middle-age), egg production ceases and hormone levels drop significantly.
Pancreas (Pancreatic)
Opposite the liver and behind the stomach, the pancreas has two main functions - to manufacture various enzymes for digestion, and to release hormones to help control the body's use of carbohydrates. It releases insulin to help each cell absorb glucose to burn as energy. In this way, insulin controls the amount of sugar (glucose) in the blood. Proper pancreatic function is very important: too much, too little, or no insulin production can be life-threatening. Some of the chemicals released by the pancreas are not hormones, but stimulate other glands to make hormones. Once again, balance is necessary. Nutritional requirements for the pancreas are many. Research indicates that chromium vitamins C, E, B-complex, calcium, magnesium and potassium are especially important.
Radiation Therapy (Radiotherapy)
The use of high-energy rays to kill cancer cells. Depending on the stage of the disease, treatment with radiation may be given alone or with chemotherapy. Radiation therapy is local therapy; it affects cancer cells only in the treated area. External radiation does not cause the body to become radioactive. Most often, treatment is given on an outpatient basis in a hospital or clinic.
Saturated Fat (Saturated Fats)
A type of fat that is readily converted to LDL cholesterol and is thought to encourage production of arterial disease. Saturated fats tend to be hard at room temperature. Among saturated fats are animal fats, dairy products, and such vegetable oils as coconut and palm oils.
Tumor (Tumors, Tumour, Tumours)
An abnormal growth of tissue resulting from uncontrolled, progressive multiplication of cells and serving no physiological function; a neoplasm. Literally, a swelling; in the past the term has been used in reference to any swelling of the body, no matter what the cause. However, the word is now being used almost exclusively to refer to a neoplastic mass, and the more general usage is being discarded.
X-rays (X-ray)
High-energy radiation used to take pictures of areas inside the body.
Last updated: Apr 13, 2008
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