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Bladder Cancer Awareness Month 2024

Published on 

Wednesday, May 1, 2024

 | Miscellaneous 

Did You Know?

According to the National Cancer Institute, bladder cancer is the fourth most commonly diagnosed malignancy in men in the United States and the incidence of bladder cancer is about four times higher in men than in women.

 

Bladder Cancer Symptoms

Although symptoms can vary from person to person, the most common symptom is blood in the urine, called hematuria. Although this is the most common presenting symptom, most people experiencing hematuria do not have bladder cancer. Other common symptoms include:

  • Frequent urination,
  • Pain or burning during urination,
  • Feeling as if you need to urinate even if your bladder is not full, and
  • Frequent urination during the night.

     

    If the cancer has grown large or spread beyond the bladder, symptoms may include:

  • Being unable to urinate
  • Lower back pain on one side of the body
  • Pain in the abdomen
  • Bone pain or tenderness
  • Unintended weight loss and loss of appetite
  • Swelling in the feet, and
  • Feeling tired.

     

    Why it Matters?

    There are risk factors related to developing bladder cancer, most common being tobacco use, especially smoking cigarettes. Examples of additional risk factors includes:

  • Having a family history of bladder cancer,
  • Having certain changes in the genes that are linked to bladder cancer,
  • Being exposed to paints, dyes, metals, or petroleum products in the workplace,
  • Past treatment with radiation therapy to the pelvis or with certain anticancer drugs, such as cyclophosphamide or ifosfamide,
  • Taking Aristolochia fangchi, a Chinese herb,
  • Drinking water from a well that has high levels of arsenic,
  • Drinking water that has been treated with chlorine,
  • Having a history of bladder infections, and
  • Using urinary catheters for a long time.

 

What Can I Do?

First, if you smoke, quit! If you think you may be at risk for bladder cancer and/or are experiencing symptoms common for bladder cancer, discuss this with your physician. Time matters. The earlier bladder cancer is identified, the better chance a person has of surviving five years after diagnosis.

 

Resources:

PDQ® Screening and Prevention Editorial Board. PDQ Bladder and Other Urothelial Cancer Screening. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute. Updated 03/15/2024. Available at https://www.cancer.gov/types/bladder/hp/bladder-screening-pdq. Accessed 04/30/2024. [PMID:26389217]

 

National Cancer Institute – Bladder Cancer Symptoms. Updated 01/16/2023. Available at https://www.cancer.gov/types/bladder/symptoms. Accessed 04/30/2024.

Article Author: Beth Cobb, RN, BSN, ACM, CCDS
Beth Cobb, RN, BSN, ACM, CCDS, is the Manager of Clinical Analytics at Medical Management Plus, Inc. Beth has over twenty-five years of experience in healthcare including eleven years in Case Management at a large multi-facility health system. In her current position, Beth is a principle writer for MMP’s Wednesday@One weekly e-newsletter, an active member of our HIPAA Compliance Committee, MMP’s Education Department Program Director and co-developer of MMP’s proprietary Compliance Protection Assessment Tool.

This material was compiled to share information.  MMP, Inc. is not offering legal advice. Every reasonable effort has been taken to ensure the information is accurate and useful.