Being the part of the body that removes waste, the bladder is an integral part of our 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.

There are three variations of bladder cancer that can occur, based on the kind of cells that cause cancer. There can be many reasons for a person to develop bladder cancer, and people with a history of tobacco use or infections in the bladder have a risk of developing this disease. Tobacco users are said to be at twice to thrice the risk of developing bladder cancer than others. Although a person may have one or more of the above mentioned risk factors, they are not definite causes for developing the disease. Anomalies in a personâ??s urine and an increase in the frequency of needing to urinate are considered warning signs of this cancer. These symptoms alone are not predictions of the disease, and so a more thorough check is necessary. Doctorâ??s use physical tests, urine tests and, in some cases, biopsies, to diagnose the cause of symptoms that appear. In most cases biopsies can be the best way to say if a patient has bladder cancer 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.

There are a range of treatments for bladder cancer which patients can ask their doctorâ??s about, from chemo or radiation therapy to surgery. A combination of a number of therapies can also be used. Going according to doctorâ??s advice is best for the patient, when it comes to such treaments. 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. Discussing with a doctor or dietician will give the patient more information on the diet that the patient needs to follow, so that recovery can be made faster and easier.