May Cancer Month: Skin and Bladder
During Skin Cancer Awareness Month, the American Academy of Dermatology is recognizing Skin Cancer Heroes — patients and survivors, the friends and loved ones who have helped and supported them, and the board-certified dermatologists who have detected and treated their skin cancer. The AAD also encourages everyone to be their own Skin Cancer Hero by taking steps to prevent skin cancer and detect it early, when it’s most treatable.
What is bladder cancer?
Cancer occurs when cells in the bladder start to grow out of control. Most tumors develop on the inner layer of the bladder. Some can grow into the deeper bladder layers. As cancer grows through these layers into the wall, it becomes harder to treat. The lining, where tumors initiate, is also found in the inner layers of the kidneys, ureters, and urethra. So, similar cancers can occur in these areas, though much less frequently.
What does your bladder do?
Your bladder is part of your urinary system. The job of the urinary system is to filter waste products from your blood and transport the waste products or urine, out of your body. The diagram below shows the organs of the urinary system. Most of the urinary tract is lined with a special layer of cells called transitional cells. The primary “machines” in the human filtering system are the two kidneys located close to the backbone and protected by the ribs. The kidneys work independently. They have the significant task of filtering approximately 20% of total blood volume each minute and removing the by-products of digestion and of other body functions.
What are bladder cancer signs and symptoms?
The most common clinical sign of bladder cancer is painless gross hematuria, blood in the urine that can easily be seen. Two features that tend to mask the severity of the gross hematuria and may influence patients to postpone seeking immediate medical care are 1) the bleeding may be occasional and short-lived; and 2) there is likely to be no pain associated with the bleeding. In addition, it may be that the tumors do not produce enough blood for a patient to see (microscopic hematuria) and are only detected with the help of special chemicals and/or a microscope after a urine test is done by a physician.
However, blood in the urine does not necessarily mean a diagnosis of bladder cancer. Infections, kidney stones as well as aspirin and other blood-thinning medications may cause bleeding. In fact, the overwhelming majority of patients who have microscopic hematuria do not have cancer.
Irritation when urinating, urgency, frequency and a constant need to urinate may be symptoms a bladder cancer patient initially experiences. Oftentimes, though, these are merely symptoms of a urinary tract infection and antibiotics become the first line of treatment. To make the necessary distinction between an infection and something more serious, it is critical that a urinalysis and/or culture are done to detect any bacteria in the urine. If the culture is negative for bacteria, patients should be referred to a urologist for further testing.
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