Bladder Cancer Symptoms And Causes In Men

Bladder cancer in men - The number of patients with bladder cancer has increased by nearly 30 percent over the past decade. It is the fourth most common cancer in men and women also have bladder cancer in the top ten. According to urologist Joost Boormans, the exact bladder cancer causes are unknown. And that in the Netherlands about 6000 to 6500 patients a year receive the diagnosis of bladder cancer. In 2001, this was still over 4000. Each year, about 1300 people die from bladder cancer: 25 per week. While According to the National Institutes of Health, approximately 45,000 men and 17,000 women in the United States per year are diagnosed with bladder cancer.

Men get more bladder cancer than women: the ratio is about three to one. This difference is mainly due to the smoking behavior of men in the past. However, the frequency of bladder cancer in women is increasing. Furthermore, other genetic factors play a role, but we do not know exactly which one.

Working with chemicals is also a risk factor for bladder cancer. And men work more often with chemicals than women. But that explains only a part of the difference.



Chronic urinary tract infections increase the risk for women. Now, of course, many women often have a bladder infection and that does not really mean they all get bladder cancer, but there is a slightly increased risk. The same applies to patients who have a permanent catheter in the bladder.

Bladder cancer is not hereditary like certain forms of breast cancer or ovarian cancer. It is sometimes that it can sometimes occur in a family environment, but environmental factors often play a role. Bladder cancer can often be found early because it causes other urinary symptoms or blood in the urine.

The main bladder cancer symptoms in men and women are bloodlessness without complaints: painless hematuria. If there is blood in your urine and you have pain, then there is more infection or stone. Blood placement without pain is a direct reason to consult your doctor and possibly ask for a reference to a urologist.

However, the condition can also be expressed in other ways. For example, in the form of other plaque complaints such as frequent urination or pain in peeing. Occasionally, bladder cancer occurs in a coincidence: for example, during a scan for something else.

If you go to the GP with these complaints, you will often get a referral to a urologist. The most important research is then a cystoscopy: with a camera through the urethra, the doctor inspects the inside of the bladder. When a tumor is found, a (look) operation is often scheduled and a CT scan is agreed. Sometimes an echo of the abdomen and kidneys is also required. In the bladder, 95 percent of the tumors are malignant.

*Image source : SlideShare

References :

1. National Cancer Institute
2. Gezondheidsnet
3. American Cancer Society