What are the dangers of bladder cancer

Bladder cancer mostly occurs in middle-aged and elderly people over 45 years old. As age increases, its incidence rate also increases. Do you know what harms bladder cancer has? Next, the editor will share with you the harms of bladder cancer.

The dangers of bladder cancer

1. Systemic damage

The pain of cancer will affect the patient's diet, sleep and spirit. If it continues for a long time, the patient's overall condition will become increasingly weak, resulting in weight loss and fatigue, and a series of damaging symptoms such as anemia, cachexia or renal failure.

2. Urinary dysfunction

Urinary dysfunction is one of the most common symptoms of bladder cancer. Men may experience difficulty urinating, a thinner or skewed urine stream, frequent urination, urgency, pain, and a feeling of incomplete urination. In severe cases, urine dribbling and urine retention may occur.

3. Metastatic symptoms

Many tumors will metastasize in the late stages, and bladder cancer is no exception.

4. Pain

Bladder cancer patients will experience pain, with the pain in the waist, sacrum, buttocks, and hips being the most obvious.

5. Infertility

If bladder cancer is not treated early, it may still cause male infertility. Therefore, male friends should pay attention to this. After discovering their own problems, they should actively seek treatment.

Bladder cancer prevention methods

1. Maintain a reasonable diet structure

Usually, we should pay attention to eating more vegetables and fruits to ensure that the body has enough vitamins and trace elements to decompose the carcinogenic nitrosamines in the body. At the same time, we should also try to eat less meat. A large intake of fat, cholesterol, fried food and red meat may increase the risk of bladder cancer, because meat can produce substances with similar structures to aniline and benzidine during metabolism in the body. Experiments have shown that these substances are prone to induce bladder cancer. Studies have shown that consuming more bean products and soda water may increase the risk of bladder cancer.

2. Quit smoking and limit alcohol consumption

Smoking is currently the most certain risk factor for bladder cancer. 30% to 50% of bladder cancer is caused by smoking, and smoking can increase the risk of bladder cancer by 2 to 4 times. Nicotine, tar and other specific nitrosamine toxic carcinogens in cigarettes can easily induce bladder cancer. The metabolism of the carcinogen tryptophan in the urine of continuous smokers increases, and once smoking stops, the tryptophan level returns to normal. Heavy smokers have higher concentrations of carcinogens in their urine. Of course, passive smokers will also suffer greatly. Non-smokers should not learn to smoke. Therefore, from the perspective of preventing bladder cancer alone, we must also make up our minds to quit smoking. In addition, although the relationship between alcohol and bladder cancer is still unclear, studies have shown that the incidence of bladder cancer in drinkers is 2.53 times that of non-drinkers.

3. Strengthen occupational protection

Another important risk factor for bladder cancer is long-term exposure to industrial chemical products. About 20% of bladder cancer is caused by occupational factors. Doctors have found that people who have long-term exposure to aromatic amines, such as rubber, plastics and chemicals, are prone to bladder cancer. The risk of developing the disease is proportional to the duration, dosage and closeness of exposure to aromatic amines. After occupational carcinogens enter the body, they are metabolized and decomposed, and some carcinogenic components are stored in the bladder with urine as waste. Because urine stays in the bladder for a long time, over time, the bladder mucosa is subjected to long-term and repeated stimulation by carcinogenic factors, and is prone to malignant transformation. Occupational protection should be strengthened, labor protection facilities should be improved, and carcinogens should be prevented from entering the human body through the respiratory tract or digestive tract as much as possible.

Causes of Bladder Cancer

1. Carcinogens in drinking water: Drinking tap water that has been disinfected with chlorine and contains chlorination by-products can increase the risk of bladder cancer; arsenic contamination in drinking water in Taiwan, my country and Argentina in South America is also associated with an increased risk of bladder cancer.

2. Coffee: Coffee drinkers have a higher risk of bladder cancer than non-coffee drinkers, but there is no dose or time trend between the two. The results of epidemiological studies have ruled out a strong correlation between coffee and bladder cancer, but do not rule out a correlation between the two.

3. Urinary tract diseases: Long-term chronic stimulation of the urethral epithelium or increased levels of carcinogens in the urine caused by human metabolic products can cause the urethral epithelium to proliferate and then become cancerous. For example, bladder squamous cell carcinoma is related to Schistosoma haematobium infection or bladder stones.

4. Drugs: Taking large amounts of painkillers containing phenacetin can increase the risk of bladder cancer. Currently, this drug has been discontinued. The risk of bladder cancer in lymphoma patients treated with cyclophosphamide can increase several times, and the tumor is often invasive.

5. Artificial sweeteners: Studies in the late 1970s reported that sweeteners could increase the risk of bladder cancer in men by 60%, but subsequent studies have failed to confirm this correlation. Therefore, the International Agency for Research on Cancer no longer lists sweeteners as carcinogens for human bladder cancer.

6. Smoking: The etiology of bladder cancer is complex, including both internal genetic factors and external environmental factors. Smoking is currently the most confirmed risk factor for bladder cancer. 30% to 50% of bladder cancer is caused by smoking. Smoking can increase the risk of bladder cancer by 2 to 6 times. As the smoking time increases, the incidence of bladder cancer also increases significantly! Not only that, smoking is also a carcinogenic factor for many types of cancer, such as lung cancer.

7. Holding urine: Holding urine is medically known as "forced urine retention". Urine is a product of kidney metabolism, containing many waste products and various toxic substances produced by human metabolism. The disadvantages of holding urine: The more urine accumulates in the bladder, the more bacteria and toxic substances in the urine cannot be discharged in time, which can easily cause cystitis, urethritis and other diseases. The greater harm of holding urine is that it is easy to get bladder cancer! The possibility of bladder cancer is proportional to the time urine stays in the bladder. There is a carcinogenic chemical in urine, which can damage the bladder mucosa and promote its cancer. Holding urine will prolong the effect of carcinogens on the bladder. Research reports have shown that people who have the habit of holding urine are 3-5 times more likely to develop bladder cancer than the average person.