Bladder Cancer Awareness Month
Bladder Cancer Awareness Month
May is Bladder Cancer Awareness Month, it is dedicated to increasing awareness and raising financial support for this condition. There are over 200 different types of cancer - and bladder cancer is one of the 10 most common in the UK in both men and women. Despite this, there is a very limited public awareness and education about the disease.
Did you know that over 20,500 people are diagnosed each year in the UK with over 100,000 people living with it in the UK? It affects all ages and gender but almost three-quarters of cases occur in men. It also has the highest recurrence rate of any known cancer - up to 80%.
Bladder cancer is a growth of abnormal tissue (called a tumour) that forms in the lining of the bladder. For some people, the tumour may grow further into the other layers of the bladder. As the cancer grows into the other layers in the bladder, it becomes more advanced and harder to treat.
Bladder cancers are classified based on how far they have invaded the wall of the bladder: Non-muscle invasive bladder cancers are still in the inner layer of cells (the transitional epithelium) and the thin middle layer (the lamina propria) but have not grown into the deeper layers. Muscle invasive bladder cancers grow beyond the epithelium into the deeper layers of muscle. These types of tumours are more difficult to treat and are more likely to spread.
Early diagnosis for Bladder cancer and any other type of cancer saves lives. This is why it is important to know the symptoms of Bladder Cancer and visit your GP as soon as you notice anything unusual.
Some of the common symptoms of bowel cancer include:
Blood in the urine (even just once)
Recurrent urinary infections
Frequency or urgency or pain on passing urine when no infection is found on urine tests by the doctor.
To find out more about the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment and also
get support for bladder cancer, visit Action Bladder Cancer UK
