Bladder cancer is any type of malignant growths in the urinary bladder. In this disease, the abnormal cells increase in number without the bladder control. Bladder is the muscular, hollow organ that is located in the pelvis and stores urine. The common type of bladder cancer starts growing around the lining inside the bladder and is known as transitional cell carcinoma. Because of the uncontrolled nature, they advance on neighboring tissues. Also, these tumors travel to other remote organs through bloodstream. This process of spreading and invading is called metastasis.
Causes of Bladder Cancer.
There is no exact reason for bladder cancer and now it has been found that tobacco smoking is the primary cause for this type of cancer. Smoking is the major cause for cancer in men and a large proportion in women. Smokers have greater chances of getting bladder cancer than non-smokers. Next causes could be chemical exposures during work. People who work with certain chemical industries or chemical develop the chances for this cancer.
Organic chemicals, especially aromatic amines are highly linked with bladder cancer. This chemical is highly used in the dye industry. Other chemical industries linked with this type of cancer are rubber processing, textiles, leather processing, paints, printing, and hair coloring. This can be prevented by following strict workplace measures. People who eat large quantity of animal fats and fried meats are at higher risks of getting this cancer. The herb aristolochia fangchi that is used for weight loss is believed to cause kidney failure and bladder cancer. Research has shown that this herb contains chemicals that cause cancer.
Other factors include age, race, birth defects, chronic bladder inflammation and history of cancer.
The common symptoms of bladder cancer include:
Blood in the urine, this may be sometime visible to naked eye or only detected through microscope.
Burning sensation or pain during urination without any trace of urinary tract infection.
Having the urge to urinate more often or frequent urination.
All these signs and symptoms are not very specific to this cancer and sometimes these symptoms are due to any cystitis infections and prostate infections.
Diagnosis.
The bladder cancer is diagnosed by biopsy during cystoscopy. Positive result in the cytology is the sure indication for bladder cancer. Today, urine bound markers are used to diagnose this type of cancer. Urine bound markers are very sensitive, but not as accurate as urine cytology. The suspected growth is biopsied and further analyzed for pathologic analysis.
In pathological analysis, most of the bladder cancer is transitional cell carcinoma. The other least occurring cancers are adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, small cell carcinoma, and sarcoma.
The various stages in the type of cancer are classified according to their size, location, and spread of cancer.
Treatment.
The treatment is given to this type of cancer based on how deep the tumor is grown on the wall. Superficial cancer can be shaved off using electrocautery equipment that is attached to the cystoscope. Superficial tumors can also be treated and prevented by immunotherapy by means of BCG instillation. Sometimes, chemotherapy instillations like valrubicin are also used to treat BCG-refractory.
Untreated tumors later penetrate into the urinary bladder muscular wall. The tumor that has penetrated inside the wall requires radical surgery where whole bladder or part of it is removed and the urine stream is deviated. Sometimes, substitute bladder is created by the intestinal tissue, but this done based on patient age, patient preference, site of the disease, and renal function.
Also, the combination of chemotherapy and radiation are used to treat invasive disease.
Always consult your doctor before using this information.
This Article is nutritional in nature and is not to be construed as medical advice.
David Cowley has created numerous articles about the relationship between diseases and vitamins. For other articles on Allergies click on Articles on Allergies and for other articles click on Other Articles.
Currently have 0 comments: