Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsFrequent SymptomsRare SymptomsComplicationsWhen to See a Healthcare ProviderFrequently Asked QuestionsNext in Bladder Cancer GuideComparing Bladder Cancer Treatment Options
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Frequent Symptoms
Rare Symptoms
Complications
When to See a Healthcare Provider
Frequently Asked Questions
Next in Bladder Cancer Guide
While it is good to gain knowledge about the symptoms ofbladder cancer, do not wait for them to worsen. See your healthcare provider for a properdiagnosis—early detection is key to curing the disease.
Verywell
The most common firstsign of bladder canceris blood in the urine, although a variety of other problems with urination may also serve as signals.
It’s important to understand that the early signs and symptoms ofbladder cancerare often intermittent and not severe.
Blood in the Urine
Blood in the urine, or hematuria, in bladder cancer is usually painless, visible, and comes and goes. In fact, blood can be present and then disappear only to reappear days or weeks later.
In bladder cancer, blood is typically present throughout the urination process. This is a subtle clue that something may be wrong, but not a hard and fast rule.
However, sometimes blood in the urine is not visible to the naked eye. Rather, it is picked up microscopically—usually on a urine sample that was taken for another purpose in a healthcare provider’s office.
According toAmerican Family Physician,about 20 percent of people with visible blood in the urine have bladder cancer and about 2 to 5 percent of people with microscopic blood in the urine have bladder cancer.
It is important to understand that having blood in your urine does not necessarily mean you have bladder cancer. In fact, a decent percentage—about 9% to 18%—of healthy people have some blood in their urine. And, for most, the cause is not cancer.
It is important to see your healthcare provider and/orurologistif you have blood in your urine. While it could be nothing, it could also be asign of an infection, a stone, kidney disease, or a cancer of the urinary tract system (bladder, prostate, or kidney). Again, early detection is vital.
Irritation When Urinating
One or more of these symptoms occur in people with bladder cancer:
Of course, these symptoms could be from other medical problems, like aurinary tract infectionor anenlarged prostatein men. Regardless, get it checked out.
Obstruction When Urinating
If you feel like something is blocking your urine flow, it is also important to see your healthcare provider. Again, like irritative symptoms, this may be due to something else (like prostate enlargement), but get it evaluated for a proper diagnosis.
In general, obstructive symptoms are less common than irritative symptoms in bladder cancer. Examples include:
If your bladder cancer has spread to other parts of your body—referred to asmetastasis—you may have symptoms of advanced disease. These include generalized symptoms like:
And, depending on where the bladder cancer has spread, you may develop symptoms specific to that area. For instance:
Sometimes, a person has no symptoms of bladder cancer, but a healthcare provider detects an abnormality on a routine physical exam or a physical exam that was performed for another medical purpose.
For example, during an abdominal exam, enlarged lymph nodes or an enlarged liver could be a sign of cancer (a number of cancers, in fact, not just bladder). In advanced cases of bladder cancer, a mass in the pelvis may be felt. Also, an abnormal feelingprostate glandmay occur if the bladder cancer has spread to the prostate.
In most instances, the physical exam of a person with bladder cancer is normal and is only going to be abnormal in advanced cases. Usually, it is symptoms like blood in the urine or irritation when urinating that bring a person to the healthcare provider.
You may be surprised to learn that there is currently no standard screening test for bladder cancer. That being said, a healthcare provider may choose to screen a person who is at a very highrisk of developing bladder cancer. This could include someone who has had a prolongedchemical exposureor someone with certain birth defects of the bladder.
It is also important to remember that screening is different from surveillance. Surveillance means that a person hasalready been diagnosedwith bladder cancer and is now beingmonitored.
Bladder Cancer Healthcare Provider Discussion GuideGet our printable guide for your next healthcare provider’s appointment to help you ask the right questions.Download PDFEmail AddressSign UpThank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up.There was an error. Please try again.
Get our printable guide for your next healthcare provider’s appointment to help you ask the right questions.
Download PDF
Email AddressSign UpThank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up.There was an error. Please try again.
Sign Up
Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up.
There was an error. Please try again.
The symptoms of bladder cancer are often non-specific and can be confused with other conditions affecting the reproductive or urinary tract. The most common include:Blood in urineDifficulty urinating or a weak urine streamPain or burning with urinationFeeling as if you need to urinate even when your bladder is emptyFrequent nighttime urination
The symptoms of bladder cancer are often non-specific and can be confused with other conditions affecting the reproductive or urinary tract. The most common include:
The first sign of bladder cancer is oftenhematuria(blood in urine). This can occur without other symptoms and may be present one day and absent the next. Even so, the reappearance of hematuria—even weeks or months later—should be a red flag that bladder cancer may be involved.
The symptoms of bladder cancer can start quite early, although they may be confused for less serious conditions like aurinary tract infectionor anenlarged prostate. Even so, the vast majority of bladder cancers (roughly 85%) are diagnosed during the early stages, often when unexplained hematuria is investigated.
The symptoms are largely the same, but females tend to be diagnosed later than males because blood in urine is sometimes mistaken for menstruation. The same applies to pelvic pain, which females will sometimes attribute topremenstrual syndrome (PMS).
Many of the signs of bladder cancer andkidney cancerare the same. But, because kidney cancer occurs upstream from the bladder, any pain tends to be located further up the back to one side. Kidney cancer may also be felt as a lump on the back or side, something that generally does not occur with bladder cancer.
Bladder Cancer
9 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Sharma S, Ksheersagar P, Sharma P.Diagnosis and treatment of bladder cancer.Am Fam Physician. 2009;80(7):717-23.Elias K, Svatek RS, Gupta S, Ho R, Lotan Y.High-risk patients with hematuria are not evaluated according to guideline recommendations.Cancer. 2010;116(12):2954-9. doi:10.1002/cncr.25048American Cancer Society.Bladder cancer signs and symptoms.National Cancer Institute.Bladder and Other Urothelial Cancers Screening (PDQ®)–Health Professional Version.American Cancer Society.Bladder Cancer Stages.American Cancer Society.Can Bladder Cancer Be Found Early?National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program.Cancer fast stats: bladder cancer.Moffitt Cancer Center.Bladder cancer symptoms in women vs. men.American Cancer Society.Kidney cancer signs and symptoms.Additional ReadingLotan, Y. (November 2016).Clinical Presentation, Diagnosis, and Staging of Bladder Cancer. UpToDate, Lerner SP (Ed), Waltham, MA.
9 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Sharma S, Ksheersagar P, Sharma P.Diagnosis and treatment of bladder cancer.Am Fam Physician. 2009;80(7):717-23.Elias K, Svatek RS, Gupta S, Ho R, Lotan Y.High-risk patients with hematuria are not evaluated according to guideline recommendations.Cancer. 2010;116(12):2954-9. doi:10.1002/cncr.25048American Cancer Society.Bladder cancer signs and symptoms.National Cancer Institute.Bladder and Other Urothelial Cancers Screening (PDQ®)–Health Professional Version.American Cancer Society.Bladder Cancer Stages.American Cancer Society.Can Bladder Cancer Be Found Early?National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program.Cancer fast stats: bladder cancer.Moffitt Cancer Center.Bladder cancer symptoms in women vs. men.American Cancer Society.Kidney cancer signs and symptoms.Additional ReadingLotan, Y. (November 2016).Clinical Presentation, Diagnosis, and Staging of Bladder Cancer. UpToDate, Lerner SP (Ed), Waltham, MA.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Sharma S, Ksheersagar P, Sharma P.Diagnosis and treatment of bladder cancer.Am Fam Physician. 2009;80(7):717-23.Elias K, Svatek RS, Gupta S, Ho R, Lotan Y.High-risk patients with hematuria are not evaluated according to guideline recommendations.Cancer. 2010;116(12):2954-9. doi:10.1002/cncr.25048American Cancer Society.Bladder cancer signs and symptoms.National Cancer Institute.Bladder and Other Urothelial Cancers Screening (PDQ®)–Health Professional Version.American Cancer Society.Bladder Cancer Stages.American Cancer Society.Can Bladder Cancer Be Found Early?National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program.Cancer fast stats: bladder cancer.Moffitt Cancer Center.Bladder cancer symptoms in women vs. men.American Cancer Society.Kidney cancer signs and symptoms.
Sharma S, Ksheersagar P, Sharma P.Diagnosis and treatment of bladder cancer.Am Fam Physician. 2009;80(7):717-23.
Elias K, Svatek RS, Gupta S, Ho R, Lotan Y.High-risk patients with hematuria are not evaluated according to guideline recommendations.Cancer. 2010;116(12):2954-9. doi:10.1002/cncr.25048
American Cancer Society.Bladder cancer signs and symptoms.
National Cancer Institute.Bladder and Other Urothelial Cancers Screening (PDQ®)–Health Professional Version.
American Cancer Society.Bladder Cancer Stages.
American Cancer Society.Can Bladder Cancer Be Found Early?
National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program.Cancer fast stats: bladder cancer.
Moffitt Cancer Center.Bladder cancer symptoms in women vs. men.
American Cancer Society.Kidney cancer signs and symptoms.
Lotan, Y. (November 2016).Clinical Presentation, Diagnosis, and Staging of Bladder Cancer. UpToDate, Lerner SP (Ed), Waltham, MA.
Meet Our Medical Expert Board
Share Feedback
Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
Was this page helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
What is your feedback?OtherHelpfulReport an ErrorSubmit
What is your feedback?
