Bladder cancer awareness month: practical guidance

An awareness campaign is a prompt to pay attention to symptoms and share reliable information. It does not replace medical evaluation, and screening or testing should be based on individual circumstances rather than a campaign date.

Visible blood in urine is a recognised presentation of bladder cancer. Urine may look pink, red, or brown, and bleeding can come and go. Bladder cancer may also present with urinary urgency, frequent urination, burning, or difficulty passing urine.

Those symptoms have many possible causes, including infection and stones. Their cause cannot be determined by appearance alone. Awareness means arranging appropriate assessment, not assuming that a urinary change is cancer.

Contact a clinician if you see blood in your urine, even if it happens once or then clears. Before the visit, record the colour, presence of clots, pain, fever, urinary frequency, and medicines such as blood thinners. Do not stop prescribed medicine unless the prescriber advises it.

Depending on the findings, evaluation may involve a urine test, imaging, or cystoscopy, which uses a thin viewing instrument to inspect the bladder. If bladder cancer is confirmed, treatment depends on how deeply it has grown and whether it has spread.

Get urgent medical help if bleeding is heavy, clots are blocking the urine flow, you cannot urinate, or you feel faint or weak. Fever with pain in the side or back, vomiting, or rapidly worsening illness can indicate infection or obstruction and also needs prompt assessment.

Consider asking: What could explain my urinary change? Which urine tests, scans, or bladder examinations are appropriate? What should make me seek urgent care while waiting? If cancer is found, has it entered the bladder muscle, and which specialists will help plan treatment?