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Anatomy
The urinary bladder is at the lower part of your abdomen, behind your pubic hair. The bladder is connected to the kidneys by two tubes called ureters that carry urine into the bladder, where it is stored until you pass it into the outside world through a single tube called a urethra. In men, the urethra runs through the prostate and then the penis. In women, it opens just in front of the vagina.
The bladder is a hollow, muscular organ with walls made up of four layers. The inner layer, called the mucosa, is separated by a thin membrane from the next layer, the muscle. Outside this, there is a layer of fat and connective tissue sometimes called the serosa. Most bladder cancers are called transitional cell cancers and arise from the inner layer, or mucosa. The other bladder cancers come from different types of cells in the bladder wall.
What happens
When cancer is confined to the lining of the bladder and has not grown outside it, it is called superficial bladder cancer. Bladder cancer found at this early stage has a better chance of successful treatment. When cancer invades the muscle wall of the bladder, or has spread to lymph nodes, nearby organs, or elsewhere in the body, it is more difficult to treat.
Incidence
The American Cancer Society estimates that about 61,500 new cases of bladder cancer will be found in the United States every year. More than 13,000 people will die of the disease.
Bladder cancer is more common among men than women and more common among whites than blacks. When found and treated early, the chances for survival are very good. However, it is common for bladder cancer to come back. That's why it is important to be checked frequently after you finish cancer treatment.
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External Sources
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American Cancer Society
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National Cancer Institute
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This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.
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