Bladder cancer is a type of cancer that starts within the bladder cells. Mostly, it starts in the urothelial cells, which line the inner side of the bladders. Those cells are also found in the kidneys and ureters, meaning that bladder cancer can spread to those organs. The factors that can increase the chances of getting bladder cancer are smoking, old age, a history of cancer in the family, exposure to various chemicals and bladder inflammation.
Early symptoms of bladder cancer include:
1. Blood in urine
The first sign that patients of bladder cancer experience is the presence of blood in their urine. This is also known as hematuria, and most of the time can be painless. Sometimes the amount of blood can be small and cannot be noticed until a test is done. That is referred to as microscopic hematuria. On some other occasions, the blood in the urine can be enough to cause a colour change in the urine to pink, orange and in some rare occasions, dark red. Such occasions are called gross hematuria. The blood may not be present in the urine always. Sometimes, the blood can be in the form of clots. It can be present for one day and be absent for even months, but in bladder patients, the blood comes back. Most of the time that blood can be mistaken for just an infection in the urinary tract as in the early stages, there are rarely any other symptoms.
2. Pain when urinating
Most of the time, pain during urination is a term that describes discomfort. Pain can originate from the urethra, bladder or even perineum. Sometimes the discomfort can come as a burning or stinging sensation. Pain when urinating is one of the most common early symptoms of bladder cancer, which can be ignored because there are other common causes of the pain. It can be as a result of infection or inflammation in the urinary tract.
3. Lower back pain
Most of the time, when people experience back pains, they associate it with a long day at work or some heavy lifting they did. However, there are sometimes when the back pains can be on one side only, and that can be an early sign of bladder cancer. The bladder and the kidneys are usually found towards our lower abdomens with the nerves and back muscles sitting on their rear side. Because of that, closeness bladder conditions like bladder cancer can be a cause of lower back pains, which occur on the side that the bladder and kidney are.
4. Frequent and urgent urination
Most of the time after we take in so many fluids, we feel the urge to get to the restroom more times than usual. Frequent urination can be defined as the need to go to the restroom more often than usual, which can cause inconveniences to your daily routines. Most of the time, bladder cancer patients feel anxious anytime they feel they need to go to the restroom, and there is no restroom near them. Most of the time, that urgency comes along with some discomfort or pain in the urinary tract as well as the bladder. A lot of the time, the frequency and urgency to urinate comes hand in hand and sometimes, the patients don’t get to the restroom in time.
5. Trouble urinating
Bladder cancer can make it hard for the patients to urinate normally, where they experience a weaker urine stream than normal. Doctors refer to that condition as urinary retention where patients are not able to empty their bladder or can hardly empty it. This can be caused by the blockage of the urinary tract by the tumour growing in the bladder or the urinary tract. It can also make it hard for the patient to retain a steady flow of their urine.
