Blood in urine or semen, difficulty urinating, pain when urinating, back pain, swollen legs... are warning signs of urinary tract cancer.
Urinary tract cancer is a phenomenon in which organs in the urinary system such as the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra develop malignant tumors. The most common of these is bladder cancer. The disease is common in men over 40 years old, people who have been treated for bladder cancer, smokers, are frequently exposed to aromatic amine chemicals in the textile, printing, rubber, paint, tanning industries, etc., or have a family history of urinary tract cancer.
Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Tan, Department of Urology - Andrology and Nephrology, Tam Anh General Hospital , Hanoi, said that early symptoms of urinary tract cancer are unclear and can easily be confused with other diseases. Patients need to go for a thorough examination to be diagnosed with urinary tract cancer or not when the body shows some of the following symptoms:
Blood in urine or semen : Blood in the urine is the first sign of urinary tract cancer, often occurring when a tumor in the urinary tract becomes inflamed, ulcerated, and bleeding.
The amount of blood depends on the condition of the ulcer. Sometimes, patients accidentally discover blood in the urine through a urine test during a health check. When the tumor develops to a late stage, the patient may experience frequent blood in the urine.
Men with urinary tract cancer may have blood in their semen. The amount of blood in the semen depends on the severity of the condition.
Difficulty urinating, pain when urinating : The tumor presses on the bladder and urinary tract, making it difficult for urine to flow. At this time, the patient will experience difficulty urinating, weak urine flow, pain or burning when urinating, feeling the urge to urinate even when the bladder is not full, leading to frequent urination, especially at night.
Difficulty urinating and pain when urinating can be warning signs of urinary tract cancer. Photo: Freepik
Pain during defecation : When the urinary tract tumor grows large, it will press on the rectum, making it difficult for the patient to defecate.
Severe back and hip pain : When the tumor grows large, it will block the urinary tract, urine that is not excreted will flow back from the bladder to the kidneys, causing kidney damage, leading to back and hip pain.
When urinary tract cancer enters the late stage, has metastasized and begins to invade neighboring organs, symptoms are often more obvious such as pain above the pubic bone, pain in the lower abdomen, perineal pain, bone pain, headache...
Edema of the lower extremities : The presence of a tumor in the urinary tract can affect the excretory function of the kidneys, causing kidney failure. Kidney failure causes water retention in the body, which can cause leg edema (swelling of the legs), especially around the ankles. Or a metastatic tumor compresses the inferior vena cava or femoral vein, which can also cause swelling of one or both legs.
Unusual weight loss, unexplained fatigue: When suffering from urinary tract cancer, patients often lose their appetite, feel tired, weak, and lose weight quickly without reason.
Urinary tract cancer is a malignant disease that not only causes many inconveniences in life but also has a high mortality rate if not detected and treated promptly. In particular, bladder cancer has a high chance of recurrence, so patients need to closely monitor their health and have regular check-ups.
To avoid the risk of disease, Dr. Tan advises everyone to quit smoking; do not use any medication without a doctor's prescription. If you work regularly with chemicals, you need to strictly follow all safety instructions to avoid exposure. Build a scientific diet and nutrition such as drinking enough water every day (about 2 liters), increasing the intake of green vegetables, fruits and fiber, limiting fried foods with a lot of oil, not drinking beer or alcohol... At the same time, increasing exercise and sports also help increase resistance and eliminate toxins.
Trinh Mai
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