The 10 Most Common Cancers: Know The Signs and Symptoms

Bladder cancer

While bladder cancer can affect anyone, 90 percent of cases are found in patients over the age of 55 with the average age of diagnoses being 73. There are a number of factors linked to an increased risk of bladder cancer. Smokers are three times more likely to get cancer than non-smokers. Men are far more likely to be diagnosed with bladder cancer than women; accounting for 75 percent of all known bladder cancer patients. The most common form of bladder cancer is a condition known as transitional cell carcinoma which begins as a mutation in the cells lining the bladder walls. Far less common bladder cancers can be found within the cells of bladder muscles (sarcoma), on the surface of the bladder (squamous cell carcinoma), in the mucus glands (adenocarcinoma) and very rarely in the nerve like cells of the bladder (small cell carcinoma)

In roughly 50 percent of cases, bladder cancer is caught while still inside the bladder; a condition known as non-invasive. Once cancer spreads beyond the bladder into surrounding tissues and organs it is known as becoming invasive at which point it becomes much harder to treat. Often, because the symptoms are so similar, early-stage bladder cancer can be misdiagnosed as less serious infections, enlarged prostate or bladder stones. Pain or complications while urinating are hallmarks of bladder cancer as is urine with blood in it. In situations where cancer has become invasive, bone and/or back pain, swelling of the ankles and weight loss all become serious warning signs.