Unfortunately, visible bladder cancer symptoms often don't exhibit themselves until the advanced stages of the disease, making early detection absolutely critical. To learn more about identifying bladder cancer and how to protect yourself if you're at risk for it, keep reading.
Signs Associated With Bladder Cancer
The most common bladder cancer symptoms include bloody urine (should be a deep or brownish red) and painful or frequent urination. Incontinence can also be sometimes associated with the disease.
These symptoms, though almost always present in bladder cancer, are also always present in other urinary and bladder problems like urinary tract infections, prostate issues, prostrate infections, gall stones, cysts and more.
How Bladder Cancer is Diagnosed
If a patient is at risk for developing bladder cancer (typically indicated by a genetic family history of the disease), then the person is often referred to a urologist who can test for the disease using cytology. While cytology can be an effective way to assess potential danger, it's not a sensitive test and can sometimes produce negative results even when cancer is present.
Another method used to detect bladder cancer is called cytoscopy. A cytoscopy is basically a small camera that's inserted through the urethra and into the bladder. Once inserted, a urologist can view the interior of the bladder to check for lesions or tumors.
How Bladder Cancer is Treated
The method used to treat bladder cancer will often depend on the stage of the disease and what form it has taken. For example, a superficial tumor may be easily removed in surgery simply by shaving it off. In other cases, immunotherapy is used to treat tumors, while chemotherapy may be used with others.
However, tumors or lesions that are not considered superficial must be removed by removing all or part of the bladder. Some skilled surgeons can even construct a new bladder out of the remaining skin. This is done either in conjunction with or as an alternative to radiation and chemotherapy - often used to finish off any remnants of the cancer.
Identifying Risk Factors for Bladder Cancer
Though genetic disposition is the most common factor in determining a patient's risk for developing the disease, most urologists agree that environmental factors can play a huge part. For example, holding excessive amounts of toxins and carcinogens in the bladder can become a major cause of bladder cancer.
This is why flushing out the system by drinking lots of water (at least eight glasses) every day can dramatically reduce your chances of developing the disease.
It's important to remember that bladder cancer symptoms may not always be evident or appear until the advanced stages of the disease. So, if you have a family history of members experiencing this affliction
