Vietnam has more than 1,000 new cases of bladder cancer diagnosed every year (Photo courtesy of the Binh Dan Hospital)
HCM City (VNA) - Morethan 1,000 new cases of urinary bladder cancer are diagnosed in Vietnam everyyear, according to HCM City’s Binh Dan Hospital.
Assoc Prof Dr Nguyen Phuc Cam Hoang, thehospital’s deputy director, said that around half of the patients die dueto the disease.
On March 5, a 69-old-year man from the city’s district3 was brought to the hospital after having had blood in his urine andintermittent abdominal pains two weeks.
Doctors found he had three tumors in thebladder. They then decided to use en bloc resection technique to remove thetumor in one piece as an alternative to traditional techniques to helpreduce the chances of recurrence.
Hoang said the hospital last year admitted 1,873bladder cancer patients, many in advanced stages with a high risk of having thewhole bladder removed and severe health problems.
If bladder cancer is diagnosed early when thetumours are still small, patients can have them instead of their bladderremoved. Their quality of life improves subsequently.
The cancer does not have any specific symptomsand are the same as infections in the bladder or kidney or kidney stones: bloodin urine, Hoang said.
If patients have blood in their urine and aretreated but do not recover within two months, they should go to specialisedhospitals for examination and treatment, he said. Doctors should then prescribetests for bladder cancer, he said.
Patients with bladder cancer are often between50 and 60. But Hoang said the hospital also admits many people aged 30-40.
Smoking and working in an environment whereworkers are exposed to chemicals are the causes of bladder cancer.
Hoang said workers in such environments shouldvisit health facilities periodically for screening.-VNA
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Vietnam has more than 1,000 new cases of bladder cancer diagnosed every year (Photo courtesy of the Binh Dan Hospital) 
