Bladder Cancer - Medtick
Medtick

Bladder Cancer

What is it?

It is the cancer of the bladder lining, the part of the body that store ones urine.

  • Males carry a higher risk than females.
  • ‘White’ origin carry a higher risk than other ethnicities.

There are many types of bladder cancer

The most common cancer (95% of cases) and are divider further in two types:

Papillary carcinoma

  • Appears like a finger which grows from the innermost layer of the bladder, the urothelium, towards the centre.

Flat carcinoma

  • Flat mass or growth lying on the innermost surface of the bladder.

Others:

Squamous Cell Cancer

  • Rare and tend to occur after a long term bladder infection.

Adenocarcinoma

  • Rare tend to occur after a long term bladder infection.

Small-cell carcinomas and sarcomas

Stages of bladder cancer

There are four stages:

  • Stage 0:  Tumour is small and contained within the bladder’s inner lining.
  • Stage 1:  Tumour has spread beyond the inner lining but has not reached the muscle layer.
  • Stage 2: Tumour have touched the bladder’s muscle layer (difficult to treat at this point)
  • Stage 3: Tumour may have spread to nearby lymph nodes and organs (difficult to treat, risk of spreading to other organs)
  • Stage 4 : Tumour  could be found in other organs such as the liver, bone, and lungs. (advanced cancer)

Cause

  • Family history
  • Birth defects of the bladder
  • Smoking
  • Increasing age (Higher risk when 40 years old and over)
  • Chemicals in the environment (diesel vehicles)
  • Arsenic levels in drinking water
  • Exposure to certain industrial chemicals and working in the chemical industry
    • Aniline dyes
    • 2-Naphthylamine
    • 4-Aminobiphenyl
    • Xenylamine
    • Benzidine
    • O-toluidine
    • Dyes
    • Textiles
    • Rubbers
    • Paints
    • Plastics
    • Leather tanning
  • Exposure to radiation (including radiation therapy to treat other cancers near the bladder areas)
  • Kidney stones
  • Bladder stones (hard lumps of minerals that can form inside the bladder when it’s not completely empty of urine)
  • Kidney infection
  • Early menopause
  • Parasite (protozoa infections) i.e. Schistosomiasis (Squamous Cell Cancer and/or Adenocarcinoma)
  • Constant irritated bladder i.e. long term cystitis , use of a catheter (Squamous Cell Cancer and/or Adenocarcinoma)

Syndromes

  • Lynch syndrome [hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer- – cancer of the colon and/or rectum (Large intestine)]

Medication

  • Cyclophosphamide
  • Cisplatin

Vitamins, herbal and minerals

  • Chinese herb Aristolochia fangchi

Symptoms

  • Red or rust coloured urine (cloudy and/or dark coloured and/or  smelly urine) caused by the presence of many red blood cells (called macroscopic haematuria)?
  • Pain when urinating?
  • Burning sensation when urinating?
  • Increase thirst, heavy sweating and need to urinate frequently?
  • Pain in pelvis area and/or lower back?
  • Sore bone pain?
  • Unexplained weight loss?
  • Swelling of the ankles and/or legs/ and/or feet?

Complications /Information to beware of/General tips:

Urine flow Obstruction

If one feels there is an obstruction to ones urine flow (could be an obstruction/stone/tumour/infection blocking the flow), symptoms include:

  • Experiencing hesitancy when urinating, like having trouble getting the urine released or noticing a weak and/or intermittent stream of urine?
  • Bladder feels like its not empty after urinating?
  • Straining to urinate?
  • Pain in the side or mid back area or pain moving from abdomen to back area?

Do not wait, please see your medical Doctor

This maybe a Medical Emergency

This condition can spread to other parts of body:

Do not wait, please see your medical Doctor

This condition may show similar symptoms to:

Please talk to your healthcare professional (i.e. Medical Doctor/Pharmacist) for further advice

Detailed Information

Please copy and paste any key words from the title: Bladder Cancer in the following respective 'Medtick References and/or Sources' to find out more about the disease (this also may include diagnosis tests and generic medical treatments).

© Medtick - 2025. All Rights Reserved.