Smoking causes more than half of all cases of bladder cancer and smokers are three times more likely to develop this cancer.
- The same harmful chemicals you inhale when you smoke build up in your urine, and because the bladder holds urine, it’s exposed to these toxins at a higher rate than other parts of the body.
- Only 28% of French people are aware of bladder cancer.
- It is nearly four times more common in men than in women.
Stop smoking, your bladder will thank you. “Everyone knows that smoking causes lung cancer, but not everyone knows bladder cancernotes Dr. Srinivas Vourganti, a urologist at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago who specializes in the treatment of bladder and other urinary tract cancers, in a press release published on November 18. The same harmful chemicals you inhale when you smoke build up in your urine, and because the bladder retains urine, it’s exposed to these toxins at a higher rate than other parts of the body..”
No early screening tool
Smoking causes more than half of all cases of bladder cancer, and smokers are three times more likely to develop bladder cancer than non-smokers. “Exposure to second-hand smoke and toxic solvents and dyes are other important risk factors for bladder cancer, along with recurrent urinary tract infections and other sources of chronic bladder irritation.”, adds the urologist.
Like other cancers, bladder cancer is easier to treat when detected at an early stage. “Since there is no routine screening for bladder cancer, as there is for breast or colon cancer, the number one tool we have for diagnosing bladder cancer at an early stage is when a primary care doctor orders a urine test that detects blood in the urine”, details Dr. Edward Cherullo, also a urologist at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.
Symptoms similar to urinary tract infections
Most French people have a poor knowledge of this disease. A survey conducted by Opinion Way for the Merck-Pfizer Alliance and the association Cancer Bladder France, revealed by 20 minutes, argues that only 28% of French people are aware of bladder cancer. Bladder cancer is the sixth most common form of cancer in France. It is nearly four times more common in men than in women. The risk increases with age since 9 out of 10 patients are over 55 years old. Symptoms are usually blood in the urine or frequent, painful urination. Signs similar to those of urinary tract infections but can sometimes hide bladder cancer and so it is important to get checked out to find out what is behind these symptoms.
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