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How can you tell if you have bladder cancer?

The first thing to look for is the existence of blood in your urine. This symptom is called "haematuria" and is the most common indicator of bladder cancer. Emitting blood into the urine is usually painless and many patients do not correlate this symptom with bladder cancer. The amount of blood in the urine is not an indication of what degree or stage the bladder cancer has already developed which is why people who experience this symptom ought to seek expert advice as soon as possible. Pain and discomfort can occur during urination if the blood (which comes from the diseased bladder) clots and thereby prevents urine from flowing properly. It does not automatically mean that just because you have blood in the urine that you have bladder cancer. Only clinical testing by a qualified doctor can prove the existence or absence of bladder cancer.

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How is bladder cancer be diagnosed?

Medical knowledge has already developed to the point that most cancers can be detected very early after onset and thus be treated properly. Bladder cancer is one of these detectable cancers. It is important that bladder cancer be detected as early as possible to improve the odds that treatment will be effective. Late detection will necessitate more radical treatment which may make the patient more uncomfortable and the possibility of a cure more remote.

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What tests are used to identify this condition?

Knowing the symptoms of bladder cancer will alert patients to the importance of consulting at least a general practitioner at the onset of any symptoms. The doctor will test both blood and urine, and if the patient is female will conduct an internal examination of the vagina and if the patient is male will conduct an examination of the rectum. The general practitioner may then ask you to submit to examination by a bladder specialist (a urologist) in a hospital where more comprehensive diagnostic techniques and tests can be carried out. Bladder cancer is responsible for causing up to 90% of urinary tract cancers, making it a truly serious illness if left untreated. (Urinary tract cancers are cancers that afflict the urethra, bladder, ureters, and renal pelvis.) Bladder cancers generally originate from the bladder lining. A tumor found within the bladder can be either superficial (low-stage) or muscle-invasive (high-stage).

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Does delay in diagnosis have any repercussions?

A patient who delays seeking medical attention risks developing more serious problems. It is advisable that bladder cancer be caught at the early superficial stage to increase the chances of effective treatment. Misdiagnosis of this condition is another risk that patients may have to face.

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When does a 'false positive' diagnosis occur?

This is the term indicating that a misdiagnosis of the cancer has occurred. Cancer is diagnosed when there is no cancer. Thus, the doctor might prescribe the wrong treatment to the patient, resulting in unnecessary expense as well as psychological and emotional distress and physical illness caused by radical but unnecessary dangerous treatments including radiation therapy and chemotherapy.