Understanding Bladder Cancer

Bladder cancer starts in the bladder or in the lining of the bladder and can spread to nearby tissues and organs. As the cancer cells grow, the form a mass called a tumor that can spread to your surrounding tissue and eventually to your lymph nodes (part of your body's immune system) or to other organs.

The most common – and often the first – sign of bladder cancer is blood in your pee, which can appear orange, pink, or dark red. You may see blood one day and none the next. If you have bladder cancer, the blood eventually comes back.

You may have to pee more often than usual, or it might hurt or burn when you pee. You may feel like you have to pee, even if your bladder's not full. You might not be able to pee, or pee very little.

One of the problems with diagnosing bladder cancer is that the symptoms are similar to those of less serious illnesses and infections. If you notice any of the signs, call your doctor, but don't panic. You may have a urinary tract infection, bladder infection, or some other condition besides cancer.

Once a doctor has diagnosed you with bladder cancer, they'll try to find out whether it has spread and how far. This process is called staging. Your cancer will be given a number based on where the cancer is and how much it has spread. The higher the number, the more serious the cancer is.

Men are four times more likely to get bladder cancer than women. But women generally are diagnosed with their cancer is more advanced. That's because the main symptom, blood in pee, is often associated with having a period or with menopause, so women delay seeing a doctor about it.

Men have a much higher risk of bladder cancer than women because they're more likely to smoke tobacco (which has a lot of toxins) and they're more likely to be exposed to cancer-causing chemicals in factory work. These toxins have to pass through the bladder before coming out the body.