Cancer is a group of many related diseases. All cancers begin in
cells, the body's basic unit of life. Cells make up tissues, and tissues make up the organs of the body.
Normally, cells grow and divide to form new cells as the body needs them. When cells grow old and die, new cells take their place.
Sometimes this orderly process goes wrong. New cells form when the body does not need them, and old cells do not die when they should. These extra cells can form a mass of tissue called a growth or
tumor.
Tumors can be benign or malignant.
Benign tumors are not cancer. Usually, doctors can remove them. Cells from benign tumors do not spread to other parts of the body. In most cases, benign tumors do not come back after they are removed. Most important, benign tumors are rarely a threat to life.
Malignant tumors are cancer. They are generally more serious. Cancer cells can invade and damage nearby tissues and organs. Also, cancer cells can break away from a malignant tumor and enter the bloodstream or the lymphatic system. That is how cancer cells spread from the original (
primary) tumor to form new tumors in other organs. The spread of cancer is called
metastasis.
The Bladder
Bladder cancer usually begins in the cells that line the inside of the bladder (the organ that stores urine), and the majority of these cancers are highly treatable since they are often diagnosed at an early stage.
Most bladder cancers are
transitional cell carcinomas (cancer that begins in cells that normally make up the inner lining of the bladder). However,
squamous cell carcinoma (cancer that begins in thin, flat cells) and
Adenocarcinoma (cancer that begins in cells that make and release mucus and other fluids) are also common. The cells that form squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma develop in the inner lining of the bladder as a result of chronic irritation and inflammation.