BLADDER CANCER

There are more than 3000 deaths from bladder cancer each year in the UK, mainly in people aged over 55. It’s rare in people under 40 and Caucasian (white) people are significantly more at risk than those of African or Asian origin. Although the death rate amongst women has remained the same for a long time, the death rate amongst men is slowly dropping. Research has identified some possible causes but the major risk factor in the UK is cigarette smoking, causing 50% of cases in men and 30% in women. Cigarette smoke contains chemicals known to be carcinogenic with increasing risk the more cigarettes are smoked. Workplace chemicals and prolonged exposure to them are the other main cause of bladder cancer, for example, those used in dye factories, rubber, gasworks, plastics and other chemical industries. These chemicals were banned in the UK in 1967. However, it can take about 25 years after exposure to the chemicals for bladder cancers to develop. If you think that you were exposed to certain chemicals through your work, let your cancer doctor know. You may be able to claim Industrial Disease Benefit from the Department of Social Security.

In parts of the world where bilharzia (a chronic parasitic infection of the bladder) is common , there are many cases of cancer of the bladder. This infection does not occur in the UK, but can affect people who have lived in Africa, and such countries as Iraq or Egyptwhere it is associated with an infection of the bladder called schistomiasis, which is endemic in those countries.