The bladder is one hollow organ in the lower abdomen where urine is stored. Bladder cancer is one common cancer type that starts from the cells in your bladder. Most of the time, this cancer begins in the urothelial cells lining your bladder’s inside region. The urothelial cells are found in the ureters and kidneys that are connecting kidneys to your bladder. Though this cancer can happen in the ureters and kidney, too, it is however, much common inside the bladder.
Most of the bladder cancers are tested and diagnosed at their nascent stages and hence, they are highly treatable. However, even after successful treatment, the early stage bladder cancer could come back. Hence, people suffering from bladder cancer must follow-up with tests for years even when treated so that bladder cancer recurring is under check.
Symptoms
The signs and symptoms of bladder cancer could include:
- Hematuria or blood in urine, the condition may cause the urine to look cola or bright red coloured, even though urine sample is needed for lab test as it is detected only on a lab test.
- The urination is frequent, painful and comes associated with a back pain.
Causes
Bladder cancer starts with mutations in cells in the bladder. The DNA of any cell contains those instructions that tell the cell what it should do. The changes inform and instruct the cell to multiply at a rapid pace and go on carrying out the process of living when the healthy cells cease to live. The function of the abnormal cell is to form a tumor that could attack and invade and then destroy normal tissues in our body.
Different types of Bladder Cancer
Several types of cells within your bladder could turn up cancerous. The kind of cell in the bladder where cancer starts to grow determines which type of cancer in the bladder is there. Doctors are using this information to identify which of the treatments may just work best for the condition you are going through.
Different types within bladder cancer are:
Urothelial carcinoma- This condition earlier called transitional cell carcinoma, happens in cells that have lining inside the bladder. These cells expand on instances when your bladder is completely filled and contract in events when the bladder is empty. The same cells are lined inside the urethra and ureters and there are chances of cancer forming there also. Urothelial carcinoma is one of the most predominating and common type of bladder cancer in the USA.
Adenocarcinoma: This kind of cancer begins in those cells that make up the glands that secrete mucus in the bladder. This kind of cancer is highly rare.
Squamous cell carcinoma: This type of cancer is associated with the bladder being chronically irritated – for example, from have an infection to using the urinary catheter for a long time. This kind of cancer is common in certain parts of the world where some kinds of parasitic infections may cause infection in the bladder.
Risk Factors
The factors that may increase the risk of bladder cancer are:
In case you smoke cigarettes, pipes, or cigars. These may increase your risk of the cancer as harmful chemicals tend to accumulate in the urine. While smoking, your body processes the chemicals in the smoke and brings some of it out through the urine. These carcinogenic chemicals have the potential to damage the bladder lining and increase the risk of cancer.
Aging – Possibility of bladder cancer may increase with age. Though it could occur at any age, most of the elderly people with this condition are more than 55 years of age.
Men – Men have more risk of contracting this condition than women.
If exposed to certain chemicals – Your kidneys play a vital role in terms of filtering harmful chemicals from blood and moving inside the bladder. Chemicals like arsenic plus those used in manufacturing dyes like rubber, paint products, textiles, leather etc. too may contract the condition.
Previous history of cancer treatment – Treatment using anti-cancer medications could increase the bladder cancer risk. People who have been administered radiation treatments in their pelvis for a history of cancer have a higher bladder cancer risk.
Suresh Hospital’s Treatment
at Suresh Hospital, there are several kinds of treatment provided. These include:
- Cystectomy where through surgery bladder is removed
- Bone scan to identify which area is infected
- Chemotherapy in case of cancer diagnosed
- Chest X-rays and CT scan
- Computerized tomography (CT) urogram