Genetic Predisposition Testing for Bladder Cancer

About Bladder Cancer

The bladder, is a sac-shaped organ that has a wall of smooth muscle and stores the urine produced by the kidneys. Urine passes into the bladder through the urethra. However, the release of urine from the bladder is controlled by a sphincter at its junction with the urethra. The commonest type of bladder cancer that people suffer from mostly is called transitional cell carcinoma which is also called urothelial cell carcinoma. Other types include; squamous cell carcinoma, adeno carcinoma, sarcoma, small cell carcinoma and any other secondary deposit in the body.

Cancer generally is any malignant tumour which arises from the abnormal and uncontrolled division of cells that invade and destroy the surrounding tissues. Cancer cells can spread throughout the bloodstream or the lymphatic channels or across body cavities such as the pleural and peritoneal spaces, thereby setting up tumours at sites distant from the original tumour. However, each individual tumour has its own pattern of local behaviour and spread.

Symptoms

There is always the presence of blood in the urine which is well pronounced. The victim also experiences pain as he or she passes urine. Other symptoms include; constant urination, unable to urinate even when you feel it. Please, note that it is not only bladder cancer that has these symptoms.

Causes of Bladder Cancer?

The major cause of bladder cancer is cigarette smoking. Also, fewer percentage of this disease is caused by exposure to chemicals such as Benzedrine, 2-Naphthylamine. As a matter of fact, people that face this risk are mostly rubber workers and any other people working in a place that is exposed to gaseous particles containing such chemicals as mentioned above.

Preventive Measures

• Abstinence from cigarette smoking will go a long way in reducing the effect of this deadly disease.
• WHO, has also confirmed that some fruits and vegetables such as; yellow-orange vegetables, carrots and any other fruit containing selenium, can reduce the risk of bladder cancer.
• Citrus fruits as well as cruciferous vegetables are protective items for this disease.

Treatment

Treatment of cancer is not always an easy task. Nevertheless, if the bladder cancer is not deep enough, it can be shaved off with an electrocautery instrument that is attached to a cystoscope and this is referred to as resetoscope. This is employed in the case of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer but in the case of muscle invasive cancer, this cannot serve as the only treatment for it, but  immunotherapy would rather be used to further treat or prevent the bladder cancer. However, if the cancer fails to disappear,  then the treatment using these methods becomes very difficult. Hence, cystectomy can be suggested. However, it is advisable to abstain from these things that can cause this disease rather than looking for treatment when it develops since it is widely known that bladder cancer is quite difficult to treat.