After your kidneys finish processing the fluid in your body from what you eat and drink, the fluid is passed to your bladder, where it is stored. When the bladder fills, the sensation tells you it is time to urinate. Your bladder has a lining that can be attacked by cancer cells. The Mayo Clinic reports that symptoms of cancer in your bladder often may be diagnosed early and treated successfully.
Hematuria
Hematuria is the medical term for urine that contains blood. It is an early sign you may have cancer of the bladder, although it may occur because of other conditions and as a side effect of many medications. Blood in your urine may appear as a bright red color or as a darker color that may appear to make your urine look like cola, the Mayo Clinic reports. Blood also may not be visible to your naked eye, but may be discovered through analysis of a urine sample.
Urination Increases
Bladder cancer, along with other conditions and medications, can make you feel a need to urinate more often than usual. Because your bladder may be irritated by the cancer, it may cause the sensation of needing to expel the urine more often than normal. Bladder cancer, the Mayo Clinic states, happens more often in older people who already may need to go to the bathroom more often than they did when they were younger. However, if the trips to the toilet become noticeably more frequent, it may be a sign of this serious problem.
Painful Urination
Many people with the early stages of cancer of the bladder find that they experience pain when trying to urinate. This also is a sign of other problems in some people, so it does not automatically mean you have bladder cancer. Still, it is a sign you need medical help, so talk to your doctor about it as soon as possible.
Body Pain
Pain may occur elsewhere in your body as an early symptom of bladder cancer, too. It may manifest as pain in your back, which may not lead you to immediately think of a bladder problem. Since back pain that continues is a sign of some problem, tell your doctor. Pain also may occur in an area of your body that is closer to your bladder. Again, pain in your abdomen may mean many things, but it, too, can be an early symptom of bladder cancer.
