If your health care provider believes you have MIBC, you may be referred to a urologist. He/she may perform more tests to find out if you have something such as a urinary tract infection or something more serious, like bladder cancer. If you have these symptoms, it is still important to see your health care provider. Very small amounts of blood might be normal in some people.įrequent urination and pain when you pass urine (dysuria) are less common symptoms of bladder cancer. You may have an infection or kidney stones. There are a number of reasons why you may have blood in your urine. Even if the blood goes away, you should still talk to your doctor about it.īlood in the urine does not always mean that you have bladder cancer. If you can see blood with your naked eye, you should tell your health care provider right away. Often, you cannot see blood in your urine without a microscope. Hematuria (blood in the urine) - the most common symptom, often without painīlood in the urine is the most common symptom of bladder cancer.Talk to your doctor if you have these symptoms: A urologist is a doctor who focuses on problems of the urinary system and male reproductive system. You may need to talk to a urologist about your symptoms. How do you know that you may have bladder cancer? Some people may have symptoms that suggest they have bladder cancer and others may feel nothing at all. The cancer may reach the bones, the lungs, or the liver and other parts of the body. Bladder cancer may spread to lymph nodes nearby and farther away. Over time, the cancer may grow outside the bladder into tissues close by. Transitional cell carcinoma (sometimes also called urothelial carcinoma) is cancer that forms in the cells of the urothelium.īladder cancer gets worse when it grows into or through other layers of the bladder wall. This is the inside lining of the bladder. Most bladder cancers start in the urothelium or transitional epithelium. The bladder wall has many layers, made up of different types of cells. How Does Bladder Cancer Develop and Spread? They then push urine out through a tube called the urethra. When you go to the bathroom, the muscles in your bladder contract. Urine is carried from the kidneys to the bladder through tubes called ureters. The bladder can get bigger or smaller as it fills with urine. The bladder is a hollow organ in the pelvis with flexible, muscular walls. Urine is what we call the liquid waste made by the kidneys. The bladder is where the body stores urine before it leaves the body. A person with bladder cancer will have one or more tumors in his/her bladder. When cells of the bladder grow abnormally, they can become bladder cancer. Cancerous lumps are sometimes called malignant tumors. Most cancers form a lump called a tumor or a growth. When this happens, the body cannot work the way it should. Diagram of the Male and Female Urinary Tracts Enlarge What is Cancer?Ĭancer is when your body cells grow out of control.

Tissue fragments in urine