Symptoms of bladder cancer are not specific and other diseases can be suggested in their presence. What are these signs in women? The man ? Is this cancer painful?
With about 13,000 new cases diagnosed each yearTHE bladder cancer East the 7th most common cancer in France, according to figures from the National Cancer Institute. Those are the men who are affected in 80% of cases. Bladder cancer causes symptoms that are very non-specific, especially at the onset of the disease. So what should you pay attention to? in the woman ? In humans? Is this cancer sore ? Insight from Pr Aurel Messas, surgeon-urologist at the American Hospital of Paris.
What are the first symptoms of bladder cancer?
Bladder cancer can be asymptomatic for a long time. “But at one point or another, it causes symptoms that are not very specific and in most cases these symptoms may be common to benign pathologies. THE main symptom of bladder cancer would be the presence of blood in the urine (hematuria in medical language), but it too is a non-specific sign. In 95% of cases, blood in the urine is not linked to bladder cancer“, reassures Professor Aurel Messas. To make a diagnosis, several examinations are therefore necessary (ECBU, bladder ultrasound). “When there is a real doubt, we carry out an examination which is called a cystoscopy (which is done under local anesthesia): the endoscope is passed through the inside of the urethra in order to look inside the bladder. It’s a examination very well tolerated and not painful“, continues our interlocutor.
What are the symptoms of bladder cancer in women?
As said before, the symptoms of bladder cancer are very unspecific. “In women, the most suggestive symptom of bladder cancer would be the presence of blood in the urine (the urine may then be pink or dark red depending on the intensity of the bleeding), especially if blood appears outside an infectious context. Women need to be reassured because often concerns are unfounded : for example, if a woman has blood in the urine associated with typical symptoms of cystitis (urinary burning, frequent need to urinate…) or the habit of having recurrent urinary tract infections, blood in the urine is very unlikely to be indicative of bladder cancer.
If the woman has blood in the urine and no signs of infection, this requires explorations.
On the other hand, if the woman has blood in the urine and she has no signs of infection, this may be a more suggestive element and requires explorations. In the case of hematuria suggestive of bladder cancer, the blood occurs rather intermittently (which appears and then disappears) in the absence of other symptoms“, details Professor Messas. It must also be determined whether the blood appears at the beginning of urination, at the end or from the beginning to the end of urination. “What is most suggestive of bleeding from the bladder is the presence of blood that appears at the end of urination. If there are small blood clots in the bladder (solid lumps that mix with blood), this can also be suggestive, but the usual causes which are infections and the presence of a calculus in the urinary tract“.
Smoking, even when we have been weaned for years, remains a risk factor for bladder cancer.
The presence of risk factors, especially tobaccoshould also be taken into account. “At a woman who would have smoked a packet a day for 40 years and who has blood in her urine, without infection and without stones, hematuria would be more evocative of bladder cancer compared to a woman who has never smoked in her life. Also note that smoking, even weaned for years, remains a risk factor for bladder cancer.“, continues the professor. Are also considered as risk factors: occupational exposure to certain chemicals present in particular in the cosmetics industry (today, this exposure is more controlled), the fact of having had radiotherapy or certain chemotherapies (but usually these are patients who are followed by an oncologist) or even a infection with a tropical parasite (called schistosomiasis or schistosomiasis).
What are the symptoms of bladder cancer in men?
“In humans, the presence of blood in the urine can suggest bladder cancer. But most often, this is a sign of prostatitis (prostate infection). If the blood is at the beginning of urination, it is very rare that it is suggestive of bladder cancer. It may be a little more suggestive when the blood is at the end of urination“, underlines our expert.
Is bladder cancer painful?
No, pain is very rarely a symptom of bladder cancer. “Bladder cancer can become painful a very late stage. It’s a painful cancer if the bladder removal procedure is refused which nevertheless offers a good comfort of life“, concludes our interlocutor.
Thanks to Pr Aurel Messas, surgeon-urologist at the American Hospital of Paris.