Let's talk about bladder cancer :
Bladder cancer is a disease in which abnormal cells multiply without control in the bladder. The bladder is a hollow, muscular organ that stores urine; it is located in the pelvis. Ok…yes, I know you knew all of that, but it’s nice to have an anatomy refresher. Focus... The most common type of bladder cancer begins in cells lining the inside of the bladder and is called transitional cell carcinoma. (AHHH BIG WORDS! Transitional cell carcinoma is the name of the type of cancer that occurs in the urinary system) They like to shorten it to TCC in many medical articles I have read. TCC is not to be confused with TSS (toxic shock syndrome—read the back of a tampon box) That is what I thought it stood for at first.
My Dad sadly falls under most of the categories for people who are more susceptible to have bladder cancer. Older white male, smoker, history of bladder cancer in the family, and he has worked with machines and toxic chemicals. DAMN IT!
Interesting fact ---In a study, men who drank at least 1.5L of water daily were less likely to have bladder cancer then those who drank around 240ML…that’s about 1 cup. My Dad spent YEARS drinking only whole milk. Like I said before, he is a man of the Midwest. Hard meats and hard cheeses.
The gold standard for diagnosing bladder cancer is biopsy obtained during “cystocopy” . I’m pretty sure “cystocopy” is when the doctor takes a camera and looks inside your hoo haa. When my Dad had his done, everyone thought he had kidney stones again. He had them one year earlier. The doctor came out to talk to my mom after the "kidney stone" surgery and began to cry. He was shocked to find such a large tumor.
Estimated new cases and deaths from bladder cancer in the United States in 2010:
New cases: 70,530
Deaths: 14,680
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