Bladder cancer is a type of cancer disease that occurs at the bladder organ. This organ has a specific function as urine collection reservoir until it dumps away from the body. Just like other human organs, the bladder is vulnerable to cancer also. Once the cancerous cells develop on the organ, bladder cancer starts to infect and invade other tissues or organs.
The symptoms of bladder cancer are often unclear or yet very noticeable, even at the early stage the signs can not be detected. The symptom would become clear once the cancer is going to advance level
Bladder cancer symptoms can also be symptoms of much less serious conditions, so it is important to see your doctor if you experience them.
Bladder cancer symptoms include:
1. Blood in urine
The blood can be noticeable by the naked eye (gross Hematuria) and sometimes visible only during a laboratory analysis (microscopic Hematuria). Approximately, 4 in 5 patients with bladder cancer have blood in their urine. This symptom can appear one day and then disappears the next day. When gross Hematuria happened, the urine may appear darker or reddish than normal.
2. Urinating problems
Some types of bladder cancer may cause signs as irritative symptoms of the bladder with no or little bleeding. The patients may have the inability to hold the urine for any length of time after the initial desire to void, burning sensation while passing urine or desire to urinate small amounts in short intervals.
3. Advanced symptoms
Patients may present with advanced bladder cancer symptoms or signs such as
- Pain in the flanks that caused by the obstruction of urine flow from kidney to the bladder by bladder tumor mass
- Cough/blood in the phlegm that caused when the cancer spreads to lungs or bones
- Distended bladder. It could happen due to obstruction by a tumor at the bladder neck
