To help increase understanding of bladder cancer during bladder cancer awareness month, Uwais Mufti, consultant urologist at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, gives us three top facts about bladder cancer – and highlights a symptom that should not be ignored!
- Bladder cancer is not a rare cancer. It is the 10th most common cancer in the world, with almost 600,000 new cases diagnosed each year. Globally, more than 200,000 patients die from the disease each year.
- Female patients can present late as symptoms, such as visible hematuria (blood in the urine), may be ascribed to other causes such as a UTI. The ten-year survival rate for bladder cancer in females, even in developed countries like England, is lower than their male counterparts.
“Visible hematuria is a symptom that no healthcare professional should ignore. It needs investigations irrespective of the gender of the patient.”
- In some parts of the world, invasiveness and costs of the diagnostic tests are barriers to the all-important early diagnosis. A reliable, non-invasive and cheap test can work to overcome these hurdles and be used even in the absence of symptoms, especially in high-risk groups.
Informed Genomics
As is the case with many cancers, time is of the essence when it comes to getting a diagnosis. Our bladder cancer testing service requires a simple, non-invasive urine sample. This is sent to our UK-based laboratory where GALEAS™ software interprets the results, which our team of HCPC-registered clinical scientists review and deliver a report within 15 working days.
