Bladder Cancer Early Symptoms
Bladder cancer affects 68,000 adults in the United States each year. It is more common among men than women and advancing age puts you at higher risk of developing bladder cancer.
In bladder cancer, urothelial cells that line the inside of your bladder starts growing rapidly without any check. A smoking history and working in certain chemical industries make you more vulnerable of developing the cancer.
Fortunately, around 7 out of every 10 bladder cancers are diagnosed at an early stage and can be treated successfully. But the important thing to note here is the issue of recurrence which can even occur after successful resection of an early stage tumor. In fact, people suffering from bladder cancer are advised some follow-up screening tests for several years after surgery or chemotherapy to evaluate the patient for any recurrent tumors in the bladder that have high tendency to transform into advanced stage cancer.
Some risk factors have been documented after years of rigorous research. Smokers are at least three times more prone to suffer from bladder cancer than non-smokers.
Other risk factors include:
- bladder anomalies from birth
- chronic cystitis and other bladder infections
- exposure to certain industrial chemicals, including aromatic dyes and arsenic in drinking water
- drinking less water
- history of bladder cancer in family
- dietary supplements and other drugs, such as pioglitazone (Actos) and aristolochic acid makes you more vulnerable to the disease
Different types of bladder cancer can occur in different populations. Most common type is urothelial carcinoma, or transitional cell carcinoma. Other types are rare including Squamous cell carcinoma, Adenocarcinoma, Small cell carcinoma and Sarcoma
Cancers of the bladder have two type of growth patterns:
- Papillary carcinomas grow inward.
- Flat carcinomas grow outward.