Bladder cancer is one of the most common cancers, affecting approximately 68,000 adults in the United States each year. Bladder cancer occurs in men more frequently than it does in women and usually affects older adults, though it can happen at any age.
Bladder cancer most often begins in the cells (urothelial cells) that line the inside of your bladder â the hollow, muscular organ in your lower abdomen that stores urine. Although it's most common in the bladder, this same type of cancer can occur in other parts of the urinary tract drainage system.
About seven out of every 10 bladder cancers diagnosed start out at an early stage â when bladder cancer is highly treatable. However, even early-stage bladder cancer may recur in the bladder. For this reason, people with bladder cancer typically need follow-up tests for years after treatment to look for bladder cancer that recurs or advances to a higher stage.
Bladder cancer care at Mayo Clinic
Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com
Bladder cancer signs and symptoms may include:
If you have hematuria, your urine may appear bright red or cola colored. Sometimes, urine may not look any different, but blood in urine may be detected during a microscopic exam of the urine.
People with bladder cancer might also experience:
But, these symptoms often occur because of something other than bladder cancer.
If you have blood in your urine (hematuria), make an appointment with your doctor to get it checked out. Also make an appointment with your doctor if you have other signs or symptoms that worry you.
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Bladder cancer develops when cells in the bladder begin to grow abnormally. Rather than grow and divide in an orderly way, these cells develop mutations that cause them to grow out of control and not die. These abnormal cells form a tumor.
Causes of bladder cancer include:
It's not always clear what causes bladder cancer, and some people with bladder cancer have no obvious risk factors.
Different types of cells in your bladder can become cancerous. The type of bladder cell where cancer begins determines the type of bladder cancer. The type of bladder cancer determines which treatments may work best for you.
Types of bladder cancer include:
Some bladder cancers include more than one type of cell.
Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com
Tests and procedures used to diagnose bladder cancer may include:
Imaging tests. Imaging tests, such as computerized tomography (CT) urogram or retrograde pyelogram, allow your doctor to examine the structures of your urinary tract.
During a CT urogram, a contrast dye injected into a vein in your hand eventually flows into your kidneys, ureters and bladder. X-ray images taken during the test provide a detailed view of your urinary tract and help your doctor identify any areas that might be cancer.
Retrograde pyelogram is an X-ray exam used to get a detailed look at the upper urinary tract. During this test, your doctor threads a thin tube (catheter) through your urethra and into your bladder to inject contrast dye into your ureters. The dye then flows into your kidneys while X-ray images are captured.
After confirming that you have bladder cancer, your doctor may recommend additional tests to determine whether your cancer has spread to your lymph nodes or to other areas of your body.
Tests may include:
Your doctor uses information from these procedures to assign your cancer a stage. The stages of bladder cancer are indicated by Roman numerals ranging from 0 to IV. The lowest stages indicate a cancer that's confined to the inner layers of the bladder and that hasn't grown to affect the muscular bladder wall. The highest stage â stage IV â indicates cancer has spread to lymph nodes or organs in distant areas of the body.
The cancer staging system continues to evolve and is becoming more complex as doctors improve cancer diagnosis and treatment. Your doctor uses your cancer stage to select the treatments that are right for you.
Bladder cancer tumors are further classified based on how the cancer cells appear when viewed through a microscope. This is known as tumor grade, and your doctor may describe bladder cancer as either low grade or high grade:
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Although there's no guaranteed way to prevent bladder cancer, you can take steps to help reduce your risk. For instance:
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Living with the concern that your bladder cancer may recur can leave you feeling as if you have little control over your future. But while there's no way to ensure that your bladder cancer won't recur, you can take steps to manage the stress.
Over time you'll find what works for you, but until then, you might:
Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com
Factors that may increase bladder cancer risk include:
Source: http://www.mayoclinic.com
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