Bladder Cancer – Symptoms - Signs - Diagnosis - Treatment - Prognosis - Prevention

Bladder Cancer is a type of cancer that affects the urinary bladder, there maybe no early symptoms and signs but smoking is a risk factor. Once the diagnosis is established the right treatment can be administered.

The most common type of bladder cancer, known as urothelial cell carcinoma or transitional cell carcinoma, affects the cells lining the bladder. If the cancer is superficial, it indicates a good prognosis and the chances of survival is high. If it is invasive, then the survival rate declines.


It is not clear as to what actually causes bladder cancer but smoking is known to be a major risk factor for bladder cancer. Other risks include exposure to chemicals, family history or being a Caucasian male.

The main function of the bladder is to collect and store urine produced by the kidneys. Its muscular walls stretches as the urine fills up. When it reaches its capacity, the bladder wall contracts, while the sphincter muscles in the urethra relaxes and the urine is expelled. This process is known as urination or micturition.



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Symptoms of cancer of the bladder include hematuria, pain in the lower back region, frequent urge to urinate or pain while urinating.

Like all cancers, it is easy to treat bladder cancer when detected early. Therefore, changes in their bladder habits or the color of urine must be monitored to help detect the cancer at the earliest.

Bladder cancer can be treated through surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and biologic therapy.

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The rate of recurrence for this cancer is high (50-80%) therefore, there is a lot of ongoing research focused on preventing recurrence.

Bladder cancer–Facts