Experts are clear: if bladder cancer impacts smokers and men more, this type of cancer is more violent in women. Particularly because of misinterpreted symptoms, which wrongly delay the diagnosis.
“This cancer, relatively common and sometimes aggressive, is too little known,” according to Benjamin Pradère, member of the cancer committee of the French urology association (AFU), promoter of a “bladder month”. Each year in France, it affects between 13,000 and 20,000 new people, mainly men over 60, and causes around 5,000 deaths.
What signs to watch for?
Lack of valid screening method systematically, warning signals are crucial. “Red urine, I’m moving!” », exhorts the slogan of the awareness campaign, in reference to the first and most frequent symptom. Recurrent cystitis – without infection detected when looking for microbes in the urine – or urination problems can also be a warning. Bladder cancer “affects men more often but it is often more serious in women, because symptoms can be misinterpreted and delay the diagnosis,” points out Benjamin Pradère.
Everything you need to know about bladder cancer
A scenario experienced by Catherine, “51 years ago for a few days”. “After a bypass (bariatric surgery, editor’s note), I often had blood in my urine. The treating doctor thought it was related to the operation. It didn’t work. I was sent to see a gynecologist, who thought about micromenstruation – because I had an IUD,” she told AFP. “It dragged on, until contractions and constant pressure on the bladder. Return to the gynecologist, ultrasound, always the hypothesis of micromenstruation, or urinary infections. After a year, I couldn’t stop myself from going to the bathroom. An MRI finally showed a large mass in the bladder,” recalls this Alsatian.
