When the cells that make up the urinary bladder grow out of control it leads to Bladder cancer. With the formation of more cancer cells, they form a tumor and which might lead to chances of spreading it to other parts of the body. It becomes more difficult to treat Bladder cancer when it starts to grow in the walls and is not confined to the inside layer of the bladder.
Smoking tobacco
Gender: Men are up to four times as likely as women to get bladder cancer.
Personal history of bladder cancer
Exposure to chemicals
Age >55
Treatment with cyclophosphamide or arsenic
Hereditary nonpolyposis colon cancer (HNPCC, also called Lynch syndrome)
Chronic bladder irritation or infection
Bladder cancer is classified based on the type of cells it contains:
Blood in the urine (hematuria), which causes the urine to appear rusty or deep red in color. However, hematuria cannot be always be seen by the naked eye but seen under the microscope called as microscopic hematuria.
Many times, the best option might include more than one type of treatment. Surgery, alone or with other treatments, is used to treat most bladder cancers. Early-stage bladder tumors can often be removed. But a major concern in people with early-stage bladder cancer is that new cancers often form in other parts of the bladder over time. Taking out the entire bladder (called radical cystectomy) is one way to avoid this, but it causes major side effects. If the entire bladder is not removed, other treatments may be used to try to reduce the risk of new cancers. Whether or not other treatments are given, close follow-up is needed to watch for signs of new cancers in the bladder. It is a multimodality treatment involving surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. Bladder preservation strategies are practiced when feasible.