Bladder Cancer- an Overview
Cancer is one of the most dreaded of all diseases and there are many millions of people who suffer and die of cancer every year around the globe. What though, really is cancer? The easiest way to explain cancer is to go down down to the very basic building blocks of human beings- cells. The body is made up of literal trillions of cells and there are different types of cells for every part of the body. When we are children, at a young age, cells actively reproduce and grow, doubling and trebling in size and number. Cells also go through a life cycle and have to be replaced. The process is constant, but after a certain age, the cells only reproduce to replace dying cells.
Disruptions
If there are disruptions to this cycle of birth, death and replacement, it can start to produce new and abnormal cells, these cells, unlike normal cells, grow faster and spread, eating up other tissue around itself. Cells that do this are cancer cells when it forms into a tumor and spreads to other parts of the body, it reaches a stage, potentially fatal called metastasis. Cancer is normally named after the region of its origin and will be called that even after it spreads, so cancer that starts in the lungs and spreads to the liver, for example, will be called lung cancer. Cancer originating from the bladder will be called bladder cancer.
Bladder cancer
Bladder cancer forms in the bladder, the organ that is tasked with storing urine. For the most part cancer of the bladder is of the transitional cell carcinoma type and affects the cells lining the inside of the bladder. Other forms of cancer in the bladder are adenocarcinoma- cancer of the cells that release fluids like mucus and squamous cell carcinoma, cancer of thin flat cells.
Extent of the cancer
In the USA alone, it is expected that this year alone, there will be at least 74,000 new cases of the cancer and about 16,000 deaths caused by bladder cancer. Bladder cancer is more likely to affect men than women and more prevalent in white than black people. The odds for men are 1 in 26 and 1 in 90 for women. Bladder cancer is also common among older people and about 90% of all new cases are over 55 years old with average age around 73.
Cancer is one of the most dreaded of all diseases and there are many millions of people who suffer and die of cancer every year around the globe. What though, really is cancer? The easiest way to explain cancer is to go down down to the very basic building blocks of human beings- cells. The body is made up of literal trillions of cells and there are different types of cells for every part of the body. When we are children, at a young age, cells actively reproduce and grow, doubling and trebling in size and number. Cells also go through a life cycle and have to be replaced. The process is constant, but after a certain age, the cells only reproduce to replace dying cells.
Disruptions
If there are disruptions to this cycle of birth, death and replacement, it can start to produce new and abnormal cells, these cells, unlike normal cells, grow faster and spread, eating up other tissue around itself. Cells that do this are cancer cells when it forms into a tumor and spreads to other parts of the body, it reaches a stage, potentially fatal called metastasis. Cancer is normally named after the region of its origin and will be called that even after it spreads, so cancer that starts in the lungs and spreads to the liver, for example, will be called lung cancer. Cancer originating from the bladder will be called bladder cancer.
Bladder cancer
Bladder cancer forms in the bladder, the organ that is tasked with storing urine. For the most part cancer of the bladder is of the transitional cell carcinoma type and affects the cells lining the inside of the bladder. Other forms of cancer in the bladder are adenocarcinoma- cancer of the cells that release fluids like mucus and squamous cell carcinoma, cancer of thin flat cells.
Extent of the cancer
In the USA alone, it is expected that this year alone, there will be at least 74,000 new cases of the cancer and about 16,000 deaths caused by bladder cancer. Bladder cancer is more likely to affect men than women and more prevalent in white than black people. The odds for men are 1 in 26 and 1 in 90 for women. Bladder cancer is also common among older people and about 90% of all new cases are over 55 years old with average age around 73.