The bladder is an important part of a human’s body as it is one of the main organs which deals with detoxifying the body. As the organ that stores urine, and thus helps remove excess nutrients and waste products from the body, the bladder plays an primary role in many bodily functions.

Bladder cancer can be of three main types, depending on which area of the bladder it forms in, and what type of cells are affected. There are no exact causes of bladder cancer but there have been many risk factors that have been identified to increase the chances of bladder cancer which include use of tobacco, infections or irritations in the bladder, age, gender and possibly family history. Tobacco users are said to be at twice to thrice the risk of developing bladder cancer than others. Although a person may show one or more of the above mentioned risk factors, they are not exact causes for developing the disease. Symptoms of bladder cancer include needing to urinate often, pain during urinating, and blood mixed with urine. These symptoms alone are not predictions of the disease, and so a more thorough check is necessary. Doctor’s use physical tests, urine tests and, in some cases, biopsies, to diagnose the cause of symptoms that appear. Biopsies are considered a sure way of finding if bladder cancer is present or not.

Bladder cancer occurs in four stages, separated as such due to the extent of penetration of cancer cells in the bladder. The first stage, Stage 0, is the least invasive form while Stage IV, the last stage, is the most invasive. The three stages in between refer to how far the cancer cells have spread in the bladder or to the rest of the body, in their various levels.

Treatments vary according to each stage, with chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and sometimes surgery, used. A blend of all these therapies can also be used. It is always better to ask for the doctor’s advice on which kind of treatment would work best for the patient. Loss of apetite and feeling nauseous are side-effects of some therapy, but making sure the right nutrients are given to the patient is a vital step in recovery. Talking to a doctor or dietician will give the patient more knowledge on the diet that the patient needs to follow, so that recovery can be made faster and easier.