Bladder Cancer

Urologists are uniquely able to investigate, diagnose, and manage bladder cancer patients. While not the most common malignancy urologists treat, there is still a measurable occurrence of bladder cancer mainly in older people. About 9 out of 10 people with this cancer are over the age of 55. Overall, the chance men will develop this cancer during their life is about 1 in 27. For women, the chance is about 1 in 89. Again, there are risk factors that will uniquely affect those odds such as tobacco usage history.

The good news is that roughly half of all bladder cancers are first found very early, while the cancer is still located in the most superficial layer of the bladder wall (These are referred to as non-invasive or in situ cancers). Less than 15 % of the time is bladder cancer found after already spreading to nearby tissues or lymph nodes outside the bladder. And even more rarely (in less than 5% of cases), has the bladder cancer spread to distant parts of the body. Black patients are slightly more likely to have more advanced disease when they're diagnosed, compared to whites.

Projected 2022 statistics for bladder cancer in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society:

About 81,180 new cases of bladder cancer (about 61,700 in men and 19,480 in women)

About 17,100 deaths from bladder cancer (about 12,120 in men and 4,980 in women)

Bladder Cancer Resources