what are bladder cancer symptoms

Bladder cancer symptoms

Bladder cancer is a very prevalent problem. In other words, over half a million people are living with this disease in the U.S. Many people still know very little about it though.

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One of the most important signs that someone may appreciate is a blood in the urine. This is very important and always requires the care of a physician. Bladder cancer may present with a whole host of signs and symptoms. However, most of those symptoms-

1.       Bone pain,

2.       Belly pain,

3.       Back pain

These are May be a sign of more advanced disease. Therefore, it is very important as the first sign of blood in the urine that someone seeks care from a physician.

Very few people know that smoking causes bladder cancer. Many people are aware of the association with lung cancer, but smoking causes bladder cancer too.

And if someone is smoking, one of the things they can do to reduce their risk of ever getting that disease is to stop smoking today. Some of the other factors that increase someone's risk of bladder cancer are hard to change. It may result from an exposure at work, working in industries, or a on the auto line or in some place where there are a number of chemicals. It's difficult to change your exposures from the past, but certainly if someone is aware of an active exposure to chemicals, they should avoid that.

 Many patients ask how I would know, if I have bladder cancer.

The most important sign of bladder cancer is blood in the urine.

Now, blood in the urine can be caused by many other things that have nothing to do with cancer. Infection, stones, a previous injury or trauma or maybe But we want to make sure for those individuals, particularly those over forty years of age, those who may have risk factors like previous or current smoking at that those individuals are serious about seeing their doctor and making sure that they don't have anything that is a serious and/or life threatening problem.

 Another risk factor for bladder cancer is age.

The average age of a bladder cancer patient is seventy-two years. That doesn't mean that younger individuals can't get the disease, but certainly we see it more as in older individuals. Many people ask whether drinking water or an eating certain foods can reduce their risk of bladder cancer. It's not fully clear, but there is some evidence that eating a heart healthy diet will help to reduce the risk of all cancers and, in general, will keep you healthier so that you can live longer. So that does include drinking lots of water. An eating a balanced diet with lots of fruits and vegetables. There is some evidence that eating a green vegetables, particularly broccoli, may help reduce the risk of bladder cancer.

Recognize the early warning signs of bladder cancer

Bladder cancer is not as common as some cancers that many may hear about, including prostate cancer and breast cancer. We know that older patients tend to develop bladder cancer. The average age is in the range of 65, so that it's much more common in older populations.

Those who smoke are at greater risk, so we always want to caution people about smoking, and we recommend smoking cessation programs.

 Those who have been exposed to chemical agents, particularly at work, industrial solvents, paints, paint thinners, those types of things, increase the risk of bladder cancer development, particularly if someone is a smoker.

 For many patients, there may be no symptoms. What the disease does present, the most common symptom is gone be blood in the urine. Occasionally, it's going to cause some symptoms within the way a patient may urinate

1.       Frequency of urination,

2.       Urgency of urination,

3.       Sometimes pain on urination or difficulty urinating.

4.       Abdominal pain, which is a pain in the midsection,

5.       Pain in the bones,

As the disease progresses, we may find that there are additional symptoms. Those types of symptoms are really a reflection of very advanced disease, though. The success of treatments of bladder cancer is highly dependent on what stage the bladder cancer is in. The stage essentially refers to the extent of tumor or cancer. So that tumors that are picked up in the early stage, in other words, those tumors that are on the surface of the bladder and not invading the wall of the bladder, those early tumors are highly curable, so catching them early is important. If someone is concerned that they may have symptoms suggestive of bladder cancer, they should see a urologist. An urologist will then do a series of tests in the clinic to help prove that or disprove that.

It's very important for patients to pay attention to the symptoms that they may experience. For example,

If someone has blood within the urine, they'll have the tendency to dismiss that or ignore that. I can't emphasize enough that it is very important for patients with that symptom to be evaluated by a physician. Blood in the urine is never normal and that should always be evaluated.